> > >> A good first step is to identify those who are consistently > wrong, and cease replying to them as if they were > > reputable sources. > > > > > > Well, shoot.... that leaves out just about every television news network, > > > newspapers, and Internet sites. > > > > I strongly disagree. There are several very reliable sources out > > there; yes, they may occasionally be wrong, but nothing is perfect, > > and as long as you don't "believe" in any one source, you'll be OK.
Possibly. But IMO you cannot trust ANY source unless they provide details of where and how they got their information. Also, any source that doesn't clearly distinguish "reporting" from "opinion" just isn't worth consideration. Opinion pieces shouldn't be taken as seriously so they don't require as much verification. But it seems most "news" magazines (and shows?) often don't differentiate the two; when they're proven wrong they claim "Oh, that was just an op-ed piece." Hmm... interesting thought. TV stations often get away with not providing backup because they're "short on time". Maybe a law should be passed requiring them to publish all their source material (web, etc) for anyone to examine after their broadcast. So overall, IMO, no, you can't implicitly "trust" any of them. All have biases. And all have a primary goal to "make money". Sometimes they may actually rise above these conflicting interests, but they will trump the truth in some cases. You can never be sure when they have. So, if something is of concern to you, you need to be able to verify it yourself. No backup material provided? Well then too bad, you can't count on it. Yeah, who has the time to do that? But if you don't, you may as well consider yourself misinformed. -Charlie _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
