Broaden news sources for fair and balanced information

To The Daily Sun,

I would like to respond to a letter to the editor by Jim Raschilla in which he says that many readers are influenced by “fake news” and do not listen to the only news source that is fair and balanced. I assume when Mr. Raschilla says “fair and balanced,” he means Fox News.

First of all, many people do get their news from Fox. It has the largest cable news audience and in many parts of the country is the only televised news available.

Second, according to Media Bias Fact Check, we are much more likely to see fake news stories on social media than in the mainstream media or cable news media.

Third, we are also more likely to see fake news on Fox than left-leaning news sources. According to the authors of Network Propaganda, we are more like to see conspiracy theories — stories that are fake — on Fox News than in the mainstream media. Pizzagate is a prime example of fake news that appeared on Fox News. Conspiracy theories from the far left are exposed and stopped by left-leaning news sources before they reach the mainstream media.

Finally, Fox News has a right-wing bias. Fox was started by conservative Roger Ailes to combat what he considered the left-leaning media. Ailes has said that he wanted to prevent another Republican president from being impeached. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the New York Times and the Washington Post as having a left-center bias and Fox News as having a right bias. These ratings are mirrored by other media watchdogs like Ad Fontes Media. This means that Fox News is skewed farther to the right than the New York Times and the Washington Post are skewed toward the left. The Times and the Post also offer a broader range of political opinion than Fox News. They feature leading conservative columnists as well as columnists from across the political spectrum.

Mr. Raschilla wants us to get our news from a single news source that has a proven conservative bias rather from multiple sources that provide a broader spectrum of news and opinion. Getting news from a single, right-biased source contributes to the partisan divide that plagues our country. Reading and viewing news from multiple sources gives us a broader perspective of news and opinions, helps us judge the veracity and credibility of news reports, and helps us understand views that are different than ours.

David Toth

Ashland