I like the news I consume and digest just like the sandwiches I consume & digest… cut right down the middle and even on both sides.

When asked about where I consume most of my news the answer is simple. Everywhere.

The truth is that when I’m looking for news I am always on the hunt to find most the most unbiased, down the middle sources I can and in most cases my quest to do so is unsuccessful, so to counter this I decide I’ll typically read from both sides of the spectrum to come to my own conclusions (because sometimes when the multi-million dollar news corporations can’t do the smallest things right you just have to do it yourself)

However, when I’m not shifting between left leaning publications like ABC or right-side ones like FOX News you can find me scrolling mindlessly through Instagram and Twitter and viewing posts that ultimately, I choose to see. In most cases the news I opt into viewing on these platforms tell it how it is from their perspective (which is oftentimes from an everyday civilian) but with an edge of humor and wittiness.

 I have always used this as my go-to way to consume news because of the trust I lack in many media sources. This distrust has always been based on the idea that there is an executive at the head of every news corporation who believes money is always the first priority, leaving facts and the truth to take a backseat which is obviously a large issue. Being at the helm of a giant publication all of the sudden knowledge the head of the business has the power to filter what they deem inappropriate and/or unnecessary for whatever reason is a major problem that exists within the media industry. In instances like this a newspaper can be turned to a propaganda machine in a mere instant.

 I remember scouring the internet looking for a single media outlet that lacked bias by reading the opinions of the public on Twitter and Reddit, this exploration was to no avail because just about every suggestion that was posted had multiple rebuttals from someone who was attempting to debunk the other person’s suggestions saying that there is bias and flaws in the suggestion.

This is an experience that stuck with me because it proves just how much media ownership matters to both me and every other news consumer. The fact that I was searching for an ‘unbiased’ news source is a key moment that proves this, let alone the fact that every suggestion I found was being shot down the moment it was brought up. For me personally, I endeavored on this search because I simply wanted to find a way to read news that was uncensored and free from any political agenda and told the story how it was.  

Although issues start to arise when the social media platforms I use to view news begin the route to censorship that news outlets have taken, a road that Marjorie Heins points out in her piece entitled ‘The Brave New World of Social Media Censorship’ where she writes “despite their good intentions and their claims to a free-speech-friendly philosophy, these [social media] companies employ “terms of service” that censor a broad range of constitutionally protected speech”. If Heins is correct and censorship on social media is on the rise then this will only lower the already minimal trust I have for the media.

So in essence, yes, I like the news I consume and digest just like the sandwiches I consume & digest… cut right down the middle and even on both sides. However due to the lack of precision of the knife that is modern day media I’ll never get that perfect slice and will always have to settle for even that slightest rough 49/51 ratio of a sliced sammich that is today’s media landscape.

References

• AllSides. 2020. Media Bias Chart | AllSides. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart. [Accessed 14 April 2020].

• Heins, Marjorie. “The Brave New World of Social Media Censorship.” Harvard Law Review Forum, 127, 2013-2014, p. 325-330. HeinOnline, https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/forharoc127&i=328.