TRUE OR FALSE? "If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed.?

Question

"If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed."
(i believe it is a Mark Twain quote)

do you agree or disagree?

Answer 1

If that was your only source of info, you (and Mark) would be correct. With special note on the "misinformed" part. Today we have many sources from which to be misinformed. It takes more effort to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Answer 2

Mostly we misinform ourselves - - - we pick up a paper, read an article and say 'that must be true.' How often do you or anyone watch the Evening News and the very second a newscaster says "SO & So was accused of such & such" do you immediately get angry and demand justice? Most news comes from two or three sources - - - still the only advice I can give is to read multiple sources. Your definition of 'newspapers' begs to ask - - - newspapers from any source or only the type on paper? Because of the Internet more People are reading More papers than before. Once upon a time a city might have two or three daily papers -- - now a person can go tp sthe Internet and read dozens of papers. The same with the Evening News; three maybe four stations locally now hundreds Globaly. The only way you are going to get 'news' from any other source but these is to go in person to the place of interest and start pummeling people with questions. Peace.

Answer 3

I tend to agree up to a point. I suppose as long as you don't try to engage another in a "newsy" conversation, then it really doesn't matter. I have clear memories of my parents reading the paper and watching the news which then carried over to the dinner table. They kept us very informed! Personally, if I don't read the news for a couple days I feel out of the loop. But As to whether or not you are misinformed depends on the journalist's credentials. I think the AP is fairly trustworthy.

Answer 4

It is a true statement. Please notice that the statement is on NEWSPAPERS, not internet, radio, television... which all have a bias anyway... check out the NYTimes for notoriously being "liberal" media.

For world events, reading as much as you can is helpful to get an understanding of the situation.. but it will usually be voiced in the perception and bias of the writer. You should try to get news articles from other countries to see how they view the subject.

Answer 5

False. Mark Twain obviously never tried out the internet.

Answer 6

I duno. to every news source there is bias. i think you can get your news from websites (news.yahoo.com, cnn.com etc) TV (FOX, ABC, CBS etc) or newspapers (NY Times, or Local Paper) but you should try to read news from various sources in order to get all the information. All news providers offer acceptable news. TV isnt as good only b/c they cant cover everything in depth. Try everything and see what you like but switch it around. Like read a conservative news source one day, and the next go liberal. The reason for this is that somewhere in the middle you will find the truth.

Answer 7

People need to self educate. The news paper was the only source for a long time. But that is not the case anymore. As long try to expand your understanding daily you are informed.

Answer 8

Mark Twain was a genius - truly articulate and astute.

All journalism will have a spin. You have to use your common sense to weed out the truth and question what you read.

So yes, I agree.

Answer 9

I fully agree. At least half of what you read in the paper is lies and deception. For the real news, visit the web sites listed below.

Answer 10

Depends on the paper, and what section you're in...If it's the New york times, look in the back for the retractions of a false statement...should be full of 'em. Otherwise you are just "formed" .