(Submitted as an exercise in Motivated Reasoning and an example of how news claims need to be debunked and includes cherry-picked data.)

In news, we value truth, rigor, and awareness. These are unquestionable universals in modern society. In an information saturated environment, we are awash with perspectives, many of which are from under- or uninformed sources. The rise of the blogosphere has led to a proliferation of citizen journalism based on nothing but a singular perspective informed by nothing but confirmation bias and many times, radical views that no serious American would take seriously. And thanks to the “international” perspectives on life in the United States, the waters are further muddied with perspectives that aren’t even informed by an everyday experience in this proud country. Even worse, this has become fodder for the main stream media to feed off of. And so we’re left to the mercy of a media that stabs in the dark and makes claims largely based on indefensible sources.

The solution to this truly doesn’t lay in a messy conglomeration of independent voices vying for attention. What is needed is a combination of two things: a large, well-funded organization dedicated to producing relevant, up-to-the-minute news, and a voice that isn’t just an echo of every other media outlet; a voice that is controversial, as all truth tends to be in a world of media distortion.

We investigated the language that Fox News uses the most frequently in the context of truth. Do these issues matter to you?

A focus on what really matters: the Fox News Truth Language

Do you value a focus on family? What about a focus on the victims of crimes? How about God and love? As evidenced by this data, these are some of the core topics that Fox News cares about.

In the top list of words from the New York Times, instead you’ll find “democratic”, “headline”, “twitter”, and “celebrity”. Not quite a balanced and valuable view of the universe.

Now let’s look at the blogs that one might be tempted to retreat to given the lame stream media’s pathetic attempts to mislead and beguile you. The first thing you will notice is that the word “internet” is front and center. (The word “Google” isn’t far behind. Talk about a misleading liberal media super-power.) This is a community mainly interested in talking about themselves. For those of us who live in the real world, this should be a red flag. We need attention on real issues that affect real people.

You’ll find the word “opinions” high up on this list as well. That’s great if you’re not interested in objective reality and facts, but who has time to dawdle around in a sea of opinions when we have jobs to work, families to shop for, and taxes to pay??? You’ll also find “emotions”. This is now how one defines a valuable source of news.

So as it turns out, despite all of the attacks on the Fox News, they really do represent a valuable source of news, and an alternative to a media landscape gone awry. The data doesn’t lie. The liberal media does.

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