Sherry Dumais: Many media sources use exaggeration and bias to incite consumers

To The Daily Sun,

Most of us tune into the news to keep up with what is going on locally, nationally and globally. What do you base your choice of news coverage on?  That’s an important question I’ve had to ask myself, especially since the unfortunate rise and spread of misinformation. While I was teaching, I encouraged my students to carefully study the best news outlets for truthfulness and unbiased facts so that their research would be based on accurate and credible information. With the spread of misinformation, it has become both harder and more important to rely on the best sources.  Although the cable news channels are very dramatic in their coverage of national stories, many of them use bias, exaggeration, or misinformation to drum up more viewers. They are considered more exciting to watch because they stir up anger, judgment and outrage in their coverage of stories, as opposed to the more fact-based news outlets.  

As we ask ourselves “is this channel, online source, or newspaper spreading propaganda?” we can look to a quote from a National Geographic article titled "Bias, Symbolism and Propaganda," which states:

“Media (newspapers, magazine articles, videos) often has a bias or agenda behind its message. Being able to analyze content to determine its angle is key to staying informed. Some material is designed to inform and will try to represent all sides of an issue accurately and fairly, but other types, like propaganda, are deliberately biased or misleading and created to promote a particular point of view. “

The 24-hour cable news channels, in particular, are known for this.

There is a vast difference between the entertainment company Fox News and its propaganda compared with the quality of fact based news from outlets such as The Associated Press or Reuters.

Sherry Dumais

Alton Bay