In this world, money seems to be able to control journalistic integrity. Is it possible to find impartial news sources?
Finding objective news can be as difficult as finding a needle in a maze. No matter where you look, you will find biased news, whether it is the bias of the outlet owner, the unconscious or outright bias of the reporter, or unintentional bias resulting from similarly biased research papers.
Can you find impartial, non-partisan news sources?
What is Unbiased News?
Unbiased news refers to news stories that are presented truthfully, and without any bias toward political views or for the benefit of news outlets. News that is biased often comes with the opposite. Sometimes you might see positive news from the state news organization, or policies that were funded by the state leadership. Sometimes, news that you read may be biased towards politics because it suits the owner of the outlet or site.
This is best illustrated by the Xinhua News Agency (the mouthpiece of the China Peoples' Republic of China). Or the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, (TASS), the news agency controlled by the Russian government. The US and other Western nations have their own. The US and UK have different types of journalists. Corporate leaders control the pens, not government leaders.
The US media landscape is held captive by a small handful of mammoth conglomerates. There are only five ruling monopolies for US best news sources:
- Comcast,
- The Walt Disney Company (AT&T),
- Viacom,
- Fox Corporation and CBS – which have been created through multi-billion dollar mergers and acquisitions resulting in immense amounts of concentrated power over the industry.
For example, in 1983, 90 percent of US media was controlled by 50 companies. Only six companies held 90 percent in 2011. This number dropped to five in 2020 and could fall further.
It would be foolish to think that those who write the paychecks for reporters don't have some influence over the news and how it is reported.
You can clearly see the effects of media concentration in the lead-up to every US Presidential Election. The campaign contributions of media corporate owners are significant for their favorite candidates.
They publish news stories that are positive and favorable to their favored candidates. CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are just some examples. We live in an era where tech and media conglomerate owners run for office, blurring distinctions between news, politics, and media.
Are there any news sources that are objective?
These are the Best News Sources and Outlets
This section will be prefaced by the caveat that not all news outlets are completely impartial. Perhaps "best impartial" is an overstatement. It should instead be the "best least biased" news source. People will differ on what bias means, depending on their political views. A person who watches Fox every day will see CNN biased. However, they are both heavily biased.
Although the following news outlets may not be impartial, they are acknowledged for trying to be objective.
1. The Associated Press
In 1846, the Associated Press was established. The world-famous news organization has won 53 Pulitzer Prizes. It has been the epitome of clear, impartial news journalism and reporting since its inception. This is where journalists go to find their news stories.
John Daniszewski was a journalist for the Associated Press. He wrote a piece on
