Partisan News Outlets and Propaganda

Trustworthy is something that can be trusted because it does not set out to deceive, lie, or manipulate. It is forthcoming, honest, and transparent. Trustworthiness is a quality that indicates openness and commitment to the truth. News agency is something that brings to mind the propaganda forces of the State. While a news agency, in theory, is expected to be a source of information, most news agencies are promoting a specific take on information or presenting a one-sided perspective of a subject.

Most news agencies are owned by umbrella corporations which control the manner in which information is published so as to create a narrative in society that fits the agenda of the umbrella corporation. Give an example of a "trustworthy" news agency and explain your reasons for choosing it. I cannot point to a single trustworthy news agency, though some provide more air time to independent reporters who want to report actual facts rather than made up stories that further a state's agenda.

Russia Today can be a good alternative to mainstream media news agencies in the U.S. from CNN to Fox News. Independent bloggers (not really news agencies) offer up non-state controlled analyses and give voice to a number of different perspectives. Zero Hedge is good in this way. Independent agents such as Pepe Escobar who writes for Sputnik and other news agencies are good sources because their credible reputation is evident for all to see in the collected archives of their work.

Give an example of a "partial" or "partisan" source of news and explain how this impacts "trustworthiness". Partial or partisan news sources such as CNN and Fox News impact trustworthiness by degrading it.

For example, both CNN and Fox were quick to applaud Trump for launching missiles into Syria two weeks ago and neither bothered to question the narrative of where the gas attack originated or even what kind of gas it was -- though there was plenty of evidence submitted by independent reporters and other news agencies that the gas was not sarin and the chemicals came from the rebels rather than from Assad. CNN and Fox were not interested in the truth because they support regime change in Syria.

Their perspective gets in the way of honest and trustworthy reporting. When might you, as a reader, want to access news from a "partial" or "partisan" source? What precautions should you take in that case? The times when I might want to access news from a partial source are when I want to know what the Establishment is pushing. Their narrative is usually the one I oppose because I typically find it to be dishonest.

The precautions that I take in these cases consist of the following steps: I always fact check everything to the extent possible. For instance, f the MSM says that Assad is using gas on his own people, I look at independent reporters and people who are actually doing honest reporting of the situation to see what they are saying. They look at evidence (photographs, people there, the gas cloud, scientific data, etc.) before forming a conclusion. By paying attention to them I can fortify myself against partisan news agencies' narrative.

Describe the difference between an "editorial" and "journalism". Journalism is the act of reporting on an event or story by reproducing the events, facts, and situation for the reader. The journalist strives for veracity and authenticity without giving an opinion on the matter. The journalist should be completely objective and impartial. The editorial is different because it is an opinion piece -- it is based on whatever news is used for that piece and gives the reader.