Citizens Prerogative

Episode discussion topics

• We put the spotlight back onto the media and the niche-filled mess that has proliferated among the feeds of our internet of things. As citizens in a freedom-loving republic, we need to be vigilant of our information diet.
  
• Bias and creating an angle on any given piece of information in order to formulate a TV-ready story-bite is big business now. It always has been really, but now we also have to contend with a massive democratization of sources available to us through all the various platforms on our computers and phones. Not all sources are created equal although you may want to believe it, that does not make it right or true.
• What is corruption in media? Planting and growing bias with the aim of creating profitable niches at the cost of truly relevant and valuable content. Also, media companies tend to be in the business of aiding and abetting political figures for the purposes of securing future gains or consideration. As old a practice as the art of propaganda. Be on guard. 
• Only you can have a balanced diet of information and understanding how to assess bias or angles like we need to understand food labels. Honestly, finding bias might even be more intuitive than reading nutrition labels.
• You need to treat your media like a 7-layer nacho dip, a little perspective from each of all the layers to triangulate on the truth where the facts lay. Don't only have one source of information.
• Detect and know the bias or angle of the sources you use and select multiple sources in order to compare, somewhere between the lines is the relative truth of the matter. Every story has two sides or more!
• Remember: All news is best served with a side of fact and facts are a dish best served cold. Stone cold truths are the most truthful of truths.
  
• Calls to Action:
  
  • All of life is a soup. Keep your shields up, sample a lot with your sensors, and trust but verify anything you think is information. MVP loves his friends, even more, when they check his neuron misfirings. No one is right all of the time. We have to remain open to new information and to changes in understanding or perspective.
  • Freedom of the press is a constitutional right and high-quality journalism is important, facts matter, and so does verifiable reality. Diversify your media intake and look for independent journalism to support. DIVERSITY CHALLENGE: Do not only consume sources that confirm your existing beliefs! You need to have a balanced information diet, so add in views from another side or perspective for every source you agree with.
  • Check your sources and find specific information using commands that are specific to your search engine. We have provided some helpful links below for resources on multiple engines:
    • Google Support Article, "Refine web searches"
    • Comparison of Advanced Search Operators for Yahoo, Bing and Google from "The Association of Internet Research Specialists," name sounds spooky.

Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr.

More info

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