[quote=@mdk] easier now than ever -- we live in the youtube era after all. But yes -- that is always true, and not just in news. Everything you've ever learned about history is wrong for all the same reasons (and some others). But what you do in that case is, instead of reading the news analysis of the press release, you go find the actual press release (and pay attention to who it's coming from, so you're aware of the bias). The press release will usually be shorter, but nothing else the journalist adds is worth reading anyway. [/quote] Well, that might be treading a tad close to solipsism. In the same vein that all knowledge is fallible, so are each of us as individuals, so I don't think it is a bad idea to keep track of what others are saying; not just so you know what is being said like [@Shorticus] mentioned, but because that information allows us to put our own interpretations within some sort of context. It's way too easy for one person to run-away with personal biases if they don't get other opinions to second-guess themselves against. It's one thing to entirely discount those media sources that are barefacedly selling a sort of confirmation bias based entertainment, like Rush Limbaugh, or Glenn Beck (is he still around?), or Fox, or HuffPo, or Bill Maher, or Jon Stewart. But it's another thing to say that the less extreme sources, even second-party journalists, have no value. I suppose that's a lot of rambling because I don't want to go to bed right now and that's what happens after I stop typing. I guess, in summary, we gotta take everything with a grain of salt, including our own judgement. [quote=@Shorticus] Another thing to pay attention to (if you drive a car a lot) is talk show hosts. [/quote] I cannot really get into that format. NPR is the exception, mostly because they're so passionless about everything. But the haughty dick-swinging that most talk-shows seem to be about just puts me off big time. It's not even a political thing. Just seems like most talk shows involved a person or a group of people who I would never want to talk to in real life bitching about whatever. I'll pick up the pulse of the people from the people themselves. Seems easy to do here because, being a poor white folk in a midwestern city, I'm around both political extremes in rather equal amounts.