在一个与以往一样两极分化和偏见的世界中，很难找到公正的新闻来源。
尤其是在美国(United) ，自由“左派”认为(States)福克斯新闻(Fox News)等右翼新闻来源存在严重偏见。那些保守的“右翼”人士相信，自由媒体来源只会传播“(nothing but “)假新闻”。
那么谁是对的呢？哪些媒体来源不受政府或企业审查并实际报道事实？
公正的新闻来源：小心你(Be Careful Who)问谁
由于这个国家的两极分化程度，如果你能找到两个就哪些新闻来源最公正的观点达成一致，你会很幸运。现实是，真的没有这样的事情。只有不同程度的偏见。
确定缺乏偏见的最佳方法之一是调查受众本身。事实上，盖洛普和奈特基金会(Gallup and the Knight Foundation)在 2017 年就是这样做的，对 1,440名盖洛普小组(Gallup panel)成员进行了调查。
令人惊讶(s astonishing)的是, 被列为保守派偏见最大和自由派偏见(most)最小(least)的出版物包括《华盛顿邮报》(The Washington Post)和《纽约时报》(The New York Times)。然而，在《福布斯》的作者保罗·格莱德 (Paul Glader) 发布的最不偏颇的新闻来源(the least biased news sources published by author Paul Glader at Forbes)名单中，这两篇文章名列前茅。
这表明福布斯(Forbes)或保罗·格莱德(Paul Glader)本人都具有明显的自由主义偏见倾向。如果您检查保守派作家所说的最公正的出版物，您会发现事实恰恰相反。
那么谁是对的呢？即使那些宣传所谓的“无偏见”消息来源的人自己也可能有偏见，你怎么能选择最公正的新闻来源呢？
再次，与观众核对。
根据读者(Readers)自己的公正新闻(News) 来源(Sources)
使用Gallup/Knight Foundation survey本身，很容易确定偏差最小的新闻来源。(least)那些最不让自由派和保守派感到不安的人。位于两个(both)列表中间的新闻来源代表最小的偏见。
为什么会这样？
因为依赖事实和证据的记者最不可能在新闻发布会上(news conference)提出冗长的问题（让保守派不安）或在他们的报道中使用冒犯性的术语（让自由派不安）。
大多数记者可能在他们研究新闻学的某个阶段读过比尔·科瓦奇和汤姆·罗森斯蒂尔(Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel)的《新闻学要素》 。(The Elements of Journalism)它作为优秀新闻的指南而广为人知。道德新闻网络(Journalism Network)进一步将这本书中的原则归纳为新闻的五个核心原则。
最公正的新闻来源的特点是什么？根据 EJN(According to EJN)：
- 专注于真相(Focused on Truth)：这意味着不仅要获取和验证事实，还要将这些事实置于准确的背景中。
- 独立性(Independence)：记者需要避免以任何方式受到消息来源的影响，包括财务、个人权力或其他方面。
- 公平和公正(Fair and Impartial)：报道应该呈现任何问题的两面，并且永远不应遗漏故事的背景以操纵读者对问题的理解。
- 为人类服务(Serve Humanity)：承诺使用故事以积极的方式影响世界，而不是造成伤害。
- 负责任(Accountable)的：优秀的记者承认并纠正错误或纠正对问题的不公平报道。
那么哪些新闻来源实际上是公正的？哪些新闻媒体最符合新闻业的五项核心原则？
1.美联社
美联社几乎始终出现在所有公正的新闻来源列表中。所以在这里先列出它是有道理的。
美联社主页(AP’s main page)顶部的标语是“推进事实的力量”。
你会注意到这里的新闻报道中使用的语言——甚至是政治报道——都是非常中性和非煽动性的。
美联社记者专注于引用权威消息来源报道事实，并通过提供证据来证实或反驳消息来源的说法。
就在本周，您甚至会发现一篇关于读者可能在社交媒体上看到的所有“假新闻”的故事。美联社随后使用确凿的事实证实或揭穿了这些说法。
美联社网站(AP website)的热门故事部分(Top Stories section)是获取世界各地最新消息的好地方。还有一个有趣的视频部分(Video section)，其中包含新闻片段，而收听部分(Listen section)是AP Radio广播，每小时更新一次。
2. PBS新闻
PBS News是少数几个不受重大偏见指控的媒体之一。
这里的故事体现了每个问题的两面性。当您阅读政治家或其他主要人物的名言时，您将阅读它们提供的所有重要背景。背景(Context)是平衡报道的关键部分，PBS News比大多数其他媒体来源做得更好。
在PBS 新闻上，您会找到诸如(PBS News)政治(Politics)、健康(Health)、世界(World)、国家(Nation)、经济(Economy)等新闻类别。它还具有所有新闻广播的完整剧集(Full Episodes)部分，最受欢迎的音频新闻播客的播客部分，以及页面顶部的(Podcasts)观看直播(Watch live)链接，用于观看当前正在进行的新闻广播。
如果您需要一个以美国为重点的新闻来源，您可以相信这些来源可以在他们的报道中保持公平和平衡，那么PBS News(PBS News)绝对不会出错。
3.美国国家公共电台
虽然NPR 新闻(NPR news)经常出现在大多数平衡新闻来源列表中，但与该列表中的其他新闻来源相比，它也有更多的左倾指责。
这些指控通常与NPR的几名记者有关，他们不太擅长将政治倾向隐藏在幕后。然而，大多数NPR记者都坚决遵守新闻业的所有核心原则，尤其是问责制。
NPR听众和接触(NPR)NPR的读者会发现记者在回应批评方面表现出色。在许多情况下，他们甚至会纠正故事或寻求在听到听众批评或抱怨的主题上提供更好的平衡。(criticism or complaints)
NPR为他们的观众提供了种类繁多的新闻内容。(news content)您会在网站上找到诸如Politics、Business、Technology、Science和Race & Culture等类别。
NPR还提供精彩的节目和播客，甚至还有一个音乐部分(music section)，专注于帮助NPR 观众(NPR audience)更好地欣赏现有的、新的和另类的艺术家和音乐。
在大多数情况下，当您探索 NPR 新闻报道时——除了偶尔的左倾评论或一些记者的倾斜——在大多数情况下，你会在那里找到平衡和基于事实的报道。
4. 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
根据 2014 年皮尤研究中心的一项研究(Pew Research Study)，40% 的CBS 新闻观众(CBS News audience)是“左倾”的，而只有 20% 是“右倾”的。虽然政治保守派经常指出，CBS 新闻(CBS News)有左倾偏见，但事实是，其余的CBS 新闻观众(CBS News audience)是中心对齐的。
这意味着CBS 新闻的观众(CBS News audience)在政治上比许多其他新闻媒体更加平衡。
即使在报道非常有争议的问题时，CBS 新闻(CBS News)也会在报道中使用平衡和中立的语言。在整个网站上找到的文章标题是实事求是的，报告包括上下文以及任何辩论各方的意见。
其他主要的网络新闻(network news)媒体，如NBC 或 ABC(NBC or ABC)经常被保守派指责以煽动性的反右翼头条新闻，CBS 新闻(CBS News)更经常不受这些指控的影响。
事实上，在Gallup/Knight Foundation Survey中，保守派对CBS 新闻(CBS News)的评价远高于CNN、MSNBC和NBC 新闻(NBC News)。自由党对CBS 新闻(CBS News)的评价高于CNN、《今日美国》(USA Today)，甚至《华盛顿邮报》(Washington Post)。
5. 英国广播公司
两个媒体偏见评级服务，Media Bias/Fact Check和AllSides，都将BBC 新闻(BBC News)排在新闻报道的中心。
这意味着对于独立的新闻读者来说，BBC 新闻(BBC news)报道是最佳选择之一。这可能是因为BBC总部设在英国(Britain)，因此不受美国政治影响。
(U.S. news)BBC的(BBC)美国新闻报道出奇地平衡。头条新闻是实事求是的，避免对美国政治光谱的任何一方发起冲击。
BBC还提供极其广泛的新闻报道(news coverage)，包括世界新闻(world news)、商业、科学、健康，甚至还有一个“现实检查”部分(” section)，用于揭穿您可能在社交媒体或其他新闻网站上看到的假新闻。
6.路透社
Media Bias/Fact Check and AllSides report ，路透社(Reuters)在报道中的偏见甚至比BBC还要小。
浏览路透社(Reuters)网站很快就会知道为什么会这样。那里的文章标题令人耳目一新，那里的记者在报道中非常注重事实。
尽管保持中立，但路透社的(Reuters) 新闻业(journalism doesn)并没有采取任何措施。你会在那里发现美国的故事，这些故事对腐败采取强硬路线，过道两边的不道德政客，以及对每个问题的全面报道。
路透社是商业和市场(business and markets)、政治，甚至技术和生活方式问题的绝佳新闻来源。
标题中还有一个电视链接，您可以在其中观看(TV link)路透社(Reuters)过去的所有视频新闻广播(video news)。选择标题中的标志可将路透社报道(Reuters coverage)更改为您所在的世界区域。
7. 基督教科学箴言报
在公正的新闻来源名单上，一个令人惊讶的竞争者是基督教科学箴言报(Christian Science Monitor)。AllSidesAllSides and Media Bias/Fact Check list Christian Science Monitor列为中心平衡和公正的。
多年来，该新闻机构因对(news organization)当今世界(world today)的重要问题提供极其公正、深入的探索而享有盛誉。与其他更有偏见的媒体不同，基督教科学箴言报(Science Monitor)努力从各个方面引入观点。
您不会在本网站上找到试图诽谤或不公平地涵盖某一政治方面的文章标题。故事(Stories)深入探讨与观众最相关的问题，提供完整的背景信息并引用多个来源来证实所有事实。
该站点内容(site content)与文本和视频新闻内容(news content)混合在一起。您还可以找到播客、本周照片，甚至还有专门用于书评的部分。
7 Unbiased News Sources Free From Censorship
In a world that haѕ becоme about as polarized and biased as ever, it can be extremely difficult to find unbiaѕed news sources.
Especially in the United States, those on the liberal “left” believe right-wing news sources like Fox News are terribly biased. Those on the conservative “right” are convinced liberal media sources distribute nothing but “fake news”.
So who’s right? Which media sources are free from government or corporate censorship and actually report the facts?
Unbiased News Sources: Be Careful Who You Ask
Because of how polarized the country is, you’ll be lucky if you can find two people who agree on which news sources are the most unbiased. The reality is that there really is no such thing. There are only varying degrees of bias.
One of the best ways to determine lack of bias is by surveying the audience itself. In fact Gallup and the Knight Foundation did just that in 2017, surveying 1,440 Gallup panel members.
What’s astonishing is that the publications listed as some of the most biased by conservatives and the least biased by liberals included The Washington Post and The New York Times. Yet those were two at the top of the list of the least biased news sources published by author Paul Glader at Forbes.
This reveals that either Forbes, or Paul Glader himself, has significant liberal bias leanings himself. If you check who conservative writers say are the most unbiased publications, you’ll find the opposite to be true.
So who’s right? How can you choose the most unbiased news sources when even those promoting allegedly “unbiased” sources are likely biased themselves?
Again, the check with the audience.
Unbiased News Sources According to Readers Themselves
Using the Gallup/Knight Foundation survey itself, it’s easy to identify the least biased news sources. It’s those that least upset both liberals and conservatives. The news sources rated in the middle of both lists represent the least bias.
Why is this the case?
Because journalists who rely on facts and evidence are least likely to ask loaded questions at a news conference (upsetting conservatives) or use offensive terms in their reporting (upsetting liberals).
Most journalists have probably read The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel at some point in their study of journalism. It’s well known as a guide for good journalism. The Ethical Journalism Network further boils the principles from that book into five core principles of journalism.
What are the characteristics of the most unbiased news sources? According to EJN:
- Focused on Truth: This means not only obtaining and verifying facts but putting those facts into accurate context.
- Independence: Journalists need to avoid being influenced by sources in any way, including financial, personal power, or otherwise.
- Fair and Impartial: Reporting should present both sides of any issue, and the context of the story should never be left out in order to manipulate the reader’s understanding of the issue.
- Serve Humanity: A commitment to use stories to impact the world in a positive way, rather than causing harm.
- Accountable: Good journalists acknowledge and correct errors or remedy unfair coverage of an issue.
So which news sources are actually unbiased? Which news outlets adhere best to the five core principles of journalism?
1. Associated Press
The AP is consistently featured on nearly every list of unbiased news sources. So it makes sense to list it first here.
The tagline featured at the top of the AP’s main page is “Advancing the power of facts”.
You’ll notice that the language used in the news stories here – even political ones – are very neutral and non-inflammatory.
AP journalists focus on reporting facts citing authoritative sources and corroborating or disproving claims made by sources by providing evidence.
Just this week, you’ll even find one story about all of the “fake news” readers might have seen on social media. The AP then confirmed or debunked those claims using hard facts.
The Top Stories section of the AP website is an excellent place to get the latest news around the world. There is also an interesting Video section with news segments, and Listen section which is the AP Radio broadcasts, updated hourly.
2. PBS News
PBS News is one of the few media outlets that remains immune from major accusations of bias.
Stories here feature both sides of every issue. When you read quotes from politicians or other major figures, you’ll read them with all of the important context provided. Context is a critical part of balanced reporting, and PBS News does it far better than most other media sources.
On PBS News you’ll find news categories like Politics, Health, World, Nation, Economy, and much more. It also features a Full Episodes section of all news broadcasts, a Podcasts section of their most popular audio news podcasts, and a Watch live link at the top of the page for watching current, ongoing news broadcasts.
If you need a U.S. focused source of news that you can trust to remain fair and balanced in their reporting, you can’t go wrong with PBS News.
3. NPR
While NPR news is often featured on most lists of balanced news sources, it also has more accusations of being left-leaning than other news sources on this list.
These accusations are usually related to a couple of NPR journalists who are less adept at keeping their political leanings in the background. However most NPR journalists adhere strongly to all of the core principles of journalism, especially accountability.
NPR listeners and readers who reach out to NPR will find that journalists are excellent at responding to criticism. In many cases they will even correct stories or seek to provide better balance on the topics where they hear criticism or complaints from their audience.
NPR offers a tremendous variety of news content for their audience. You’ll find categories on the site like Politics, Business, Technology, Science, and Race & Culture.
NPR also offers wonderful shows and podcasts, and even a music section focused on helping the NPR audience better appreciate existing, new, and alternative artists and music.
For the most part, when you explore NPR news stories – aside from the occasional left-leaning comments or slant from some of the journalists – for the most part you’ll find balanced and fact-based reporting there.
4. CBS News
According to a 2014 Pew Research Study, 40% of CBS News audience are “left-leaning”, while only 20% are “right-leaning”. While this is often pointed to by political conservatives that CBS News has a left-leaning bias, the truth is that the remaining CBS News audience is center-aligned.
This means that the CBS News audience is much more politically balanced than many other news outlets.
Even when covering very controversial issues, CBS News uses balanced and neutral language in its reporting. Article titles found across the site are matter-of-fact, and reporting includes context as well as opinions from all sides of any debate.
Other major network news outlets like NBC or ABC are often accused by conservatives of featuring inflammatory anti-right headlines, CBS News more often goes unscathed from those accusations.
In fact in the Gallup/Knight Foundation Survey, CBS News was rated far higher by conservatives than CNN, MSNBC, and NBC News. Liberals rated CBS News higher than CNN, USA Today, and even The Washington Post.
5. BBC
Two media-bias rating services, Media Bias/Fact Check and AllSides, both rank BBC News in the center of news reporting.
This means that for independent news readers, BBC news reporting stands as one of the best options. This may be due to the fact that the BBC is based in Britain so remains uninfluenced by U.S. political influence.
U.S. news coverage on the BBC is surprisingly balanced. Headlines are matter-of-fact and avoid pulling punches against either side of the U.S. political spectrum.
BBC also offers an extremely wide range of news coverage, including world news, business, science, health, and even a “reality check” section that debunks fake news you might have seen on social media or on other news sites.
6. Reuters
Both Media Bias/Fact Check and AllSides report Reuters as even less biased in its reporting than the BBC.
It doesn’t take long browsing the Reuters website to see why this is the case. Article titles there are refreshingly neutral, and journalists there are heavily fact-based in their reporting.
Despite that neutrality, Reuters journalism doesn’t pull any punches. You’ll find U.S based stories there that take a hard line against corruption, unethical politicians on both sides of the aisle, and well-rounded coverage of every issue.
Reuters is an excellent source of news for business and markets, politics, and even technology and lifestyle issues.
There’s also a TV link in the header where you can watch all of Reuters past video news broadcasts. Select the flag in the header to change Reuters coverage to your own region of the world.
7. Christian Science Monitor
One surprising contender on the list of unbiased news sources, given the name, is Christian Science Monitor. Both AllSides and Media Bias/Fact Check list Christian Science Monitor as center-balanced and unbiased.
This news organization has built a reputation over the years as providing extremely fair, in-depth exploration into important issues in the world today. Unlike the more biased media outlets out there, Christian Science Monitor works hard to bring in perspectives from all sides.
You won’t find article titles on this site that seek to malign or unfairly cover one political side or another. Stories dive into the most relevant issues that matter to the audience, providing full context and drawing in multiple sources to corroborate all facts.
The site content is mixed with both text and video news content. You’ll also find podcasts, photos of the week, and even a section devoted to book reviews.
