What is the best legit news site? was thinking fox or CNN....?

Question

I'm trying to read and do research on the Iraq war....but want real facts...not b.s..media stuff..

Answer 1

Fox is terribly biased. I don't trust them at all for REAL news. However, I give them points for reporting on the positive things that are happening in Iraq, something no other "news" agency does.

CNN is awful too.... for the opposite reason. They only focus on doom and gloom.

Like other posters said, I get my news from a variety of sources. Then, I talk about it with my husband to get the truth (since he has first hand knowledge). When I'm in a hurry, I stick with the BBC (and I'm American).

--- Army Spouse

Answer 2

News agencies are not the best source for research. They can tell you what to look for, but they offer very little (if any) primary information, and their use of "blind sourcing" eliminates credibility. It means they can print just about anything they want, true or not, and if it sounds good, you're a sitting duck.

Use government websites. They're usually about 95% facts and statistics and 5% commentary.

Use non-profit study groups that don't have a political agenda. (You can tell if they have an agenda when all you see are one-sided stories and obvious omissions.)

Use eye-witness accounts that haven't been edited.

Right now, if you can get them, the ONLY real authoritative sources on the Iraq war are:

1) Iraqi citizens
2) American service members
3) Defense contractors and employees

(These are the eye-witnesses, primary sources.)

4) Study groups who visit Iraq and study the ENTIRE country, not just the hot spots. (These are secondary sources. An example might be the Middle East Atlas that I use and the Brookings Institute.)

Journalists are notorious for taking information only from violent areas and making it apply to the entire country. All you have to do is ask yourself: "When was the last time you heard a single news story out of northern Iraq?" That part of the country was pacified within weeks of the invasion and has been nearly free of violence ever since.

NEVER TRUST SURVEYS! They are easy to skew. Polls are called "scientific" erringly. I know because I've studied statistical analysis at the college level for auditing. It is intended for numeric study only, not opinions. When statistical analysis is used for public opinions, it's easy to interpret the results any way you want. It's also easy to ask questions in a way to GET the results you want.

Answer 3

If you want facts, then don't just go to one news site.

Go to a dozen. And if at least 10 of them include the same "fact" then it's probably close enough to valid to be considered objective.

Every news site includes their own bias and spin. Some are far worse than others. All have an agenda, either political or for entertainment.

Unless you see an argument from multiple perspectives, you'll never truly understand the underlying issues.

Answer 4

There is not one legit news source or site.
For research use google and type in history of Iraq and/ or Iraq and Reporting about Iraq.
You'll see a lot of viewpoints and get a global perspective.
Some are facts some are fiction
Then:

Knowing the basics of evaluating materials is the most important:

Here are some guidelines Evaluating Internet Sources & Sites:
a tutorial
http://www.lib.purdue.edu/ugrl/staff/sharkey/interneteval/
The sections are listed on the right
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_evalsource4.html

Answer 5

This site on the web even tells the name of each American casualty. The tabs show all kinds of data about the war. I found it on Wayne's best answer in the Q&A.

http://icasualties.org/oif/Details.aspx

By the way, check out how many reporters have been killed there. It is no wonder the coverage there is not all that we would like it to be.

Answer 6

Some users feel no news is legit if its on TV or the papers Try the library They may have copies Of "Foreign Affairs" a top notch journal - a University library would definitely have it

Answer 7

Your best way of getting a semblance of the news is to not rely on one source. Watch a reputable news source on TV (Faux news is NOT one of them), read at least one regular newspaper a day (NOT the tabloids), listen to and watch the different news shows. If you get your news from one source only, you are not getting ALL the facts.

Answer 8

Fox? LOL!! That's funny. Try nytimes.com
www.cnn.com
www.ap.org

"The more commercial television news you watch, the more wrong you are likely to be about key elements of the Iraq War and its aftermath, according to a major new study released in Washington this week.

And the more you watch the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News channel, in particular, the more likely it is that your perceptions about the war are wrong, adds the report by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA)"

"The average frequency of misperceptions among respondents who planned to vote for Bush was 45 percent, while among those who plan to vote for a hypothetical Democrat candidate, the frequency averaged only 17 percent"

"For each of the three misperceptions, the study found enormous differences between the viewers of Fox, who held the most misperceptions, and NPR/PBS, who held the fewest by far. Eighty percent of Fox viewers were found to hold at least one misperception, compared to 23 percent of NPR/PBS consumers. All the other media fell in between.
CBS ranked right behind Fox with a 71 percent score, while CNN and NBC tied as the best-performing commercial broadcast audience at 55 percent."
As to the number of misconceptions held by their audiences, Fox far outscored all of its rivals. A whopping 45 percent of its viewers believed all three misperceptions"

Answer 9

FOX without a doubt!
When my son was in the "Hot Zone" he told his Dad & I to NEVER listen to CNN because they never got the facts correct.

Answer 10

Neither of them are really going to lie to you, but they will show nothing but violence and Americans being killed. If you were to only watch CNN you would think we have done nothing good over there. You are better off watching Glenn Beck, he does REAL stories that the rest of the media isn't interested in for whatever reason.

http://www.glennbeck.com/home/index.shtml