Finding elections news coverage isn't too difficult. In fact, even several months before elections, it seems like all you hear about are the candidates and their thoughts on the issue of the moment.
Of course, just because there is an abundance if news on the upcoming elections, that doesn't mean the first thing you come across in the paper or on the TV is really useful, unbiased coverage of what matters most. It is possible to get unbiased elections coverage, but you have to put in a little effort. Here are some tips to follow as you look for elections news.
Don't rely on one source
First of all, no news medium is completely unbiased, no matter how much the editors and reporters want to be. No single newspaper, TV station, or radio station can possibly obtain every single fact and they may accidentally give more coverage to one candidate or one issue than to another. That means even if your preferred news source is usually pretty good about giving everyone fair coverage, you'll get a much better and more realistic view of things if you get your information from several sources.
Look to news media abroad
If you've ever taken a look at the foreign media's coverage of a major event in your country, you've no doubt noticed how different the presentation can be from that of the media at home. Checking out foreign news sources is a great way to get another perspective on things. You don't need to know a foreign language to do it either. Many countries have at least one English language news source (usually a newspaper) with a Web site.
Of course, you'll want to know something about that country's own policies before you take anything in their media as gospel. If they don't have good political relations with your country, they may well write off all the candidates as unqualified. Likewise, they are likely to prefer candidates who have something to offer then in terms of economic or political gains. Even so, browsing through international media can open your eyes to things you may never have noticed.
Avoid soap opera coverage
You know those magazines and TV shows that treat elections like a live soap opera? They focus on the candidate's personal life - their marriage, kids and long-past college years - instead of what those candidates actually plan to do if elected. Sadly, even some relatively respectable news media can fall into this trap because, let's face it, drama brings viewers and ratings. The fact is, though, election news sources like these might be good for a laugh (depending on your sense of humor), but they're not much use when you need straight, unbiased elections coverage.
Check for symptoms of yellow journalism
Even if your favorite news media seem to give good coverage to important elections-related issues and the candidates' beliefs about them, poor reporting on other issues should cast doubt on their elections coverage also. If the rest of the paper or TV show sinks to sensationalism or frequently slip opinions, exagerrations, or inflammatory descriptions into factual pieces, it's a sign their elections news coverage probably isn't up to par either.
Elections news is available in abundance for a good reason. In order to make a truly informed voting decision, you need access to complete, unbiased elections coverage. Choose a variety of high quality media sources to get your information from and you should be able to get all the elections news coverage you need.
No comments:
Post a Comment