We have met the gatekeepers, and they are us!
LISTEN NOW! Right-click that link to download the MP3 audio file. It’s about 1.5 MB and 7 minutes long.
Online media gives average people direct access to the kind of primary information that formerly only trained journalists would get. Plus, net users get exposed to a diversity of issues and perspectives that’s far broader than what mass media could ever present.
Still, most of us were raised on mass media. We’re used to equating credibility with traditional journalistic news organizations. We used to know what “real news” was, and where you found it. We used to know whose news to believe. That was a very dangerous illusion.
Now it’s time to dust off those critical thinking skills. This audio post offers some advice on how to get started…
(Show notes…)
- Set your own context. Which issues and events matter most to you? If you think hard about this, you’ll probably come up with a somewhat different list than the editor of your local newspaper. You can, and should, help define what’s news.
- Educate yourself about the issues and events you consider most pressing. Who are the main players and most relevant perspectives and context? What are the primary sources of information that you consider most relevant or credible?
- Be skeptical. Mainly this boils down to asking the right questions and exercising sound critical thinking skills. The best guide I’ve found is this book: Asking the Right Questions, by M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley.
- Verify key information and assertions. The internet gives average people nearly as much access to primary-source information as journalists have. This means that most of the time you can verify key information and assertions. This requires effort, but usually it’s not as time-consuming as you might imagine. This is especially easy and important when documents (such as legislative bills), statistics (such as economic indicators), and positions (such as what the National Education Association thinks about “No Child left Behind”) are concerned. This is where transparency is key: Does your news source clearly identify sources and source materials? Do they provide direct links or citations? Do they specify the context in which the information quoted was created or presented? The more transparency, the better.
You can apply this skepticism to news that comes from any source: The Washington Post, your local TV news, a web site, weblog, discussion forum, call-in radio show, etc.
You can have a stronger sense than ever before of whose news to trust. The secret is being willing to put forth some effort before deciding which information sources have earned your trust. Make them earn it. Demand it.
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