Ad Fontes Media Has Rated Thousands of Sources, But How do we Decide Which Ones?
Author:
Date:
09/03/2024
Since we began rating the news as a company in 2018, our goal has been to “rate all the news to positively transform society.” To accomplish this, our analysts spend dozens of hours each week rating individual articles, TV programs, videos and TV programs for their bias and reliability. But we’re often asked how we choose the content we rate.
Initially we rated online articles from well-known digital media outlets, from those considered “mainstream” to less traditional, but still popular sites. After we rated a representative sample of content over a period of time, the source was added to the chart.
Over time, we added more and more online sources, with a goal of demonstrating the various types of information that could be found on the internet. Then people asked, “What about TV news?” So, we adapted our methodology and started rating network and cable news programs. Then we added podcasts. And now, YouTube channels.
Why? Because we realize that people get information from all kinds of places, so it’s not enough to rate just “mainstream media,” or what people think of as strictly “news.” Remember, our goal is to rate “all the news,” no matter the format.
It’s a lofty goal, but one we’re prepared to accomplish. So far, our team has analyzed more than 85,400 individual pieces of content to fully rate almost 4,000 information sources — that’s 2,500+ web/print sources, 700+ podcasts, and 600+ TV shows and YouTube channels, with marketable data on more than 11,000 sources. We add new sources to our database all the time; these are suggested by our team, our customers, and our subscribers.
We share our work regularly on social media by releasing chart images that focus specifically on web/print, podcast/audio and TV/video. These monthly charts feature sources from across the bias and reliability spectrum, from left to right and top to bottom. These range from mainstream publications to niche websites to local TV programs to popular podcasts. The information landscape is vast, and we rate it all!
Look for our monthly charts to return this month after the release of our biannual flagship Media Bias Chart® in August.
The challenge with rating thousands of sources is that it’s impossible to put them all on one chart. That’s why we created the searchable Interactive Media Bias Chart® available on the website. We encourage you to use the interactive chart to search for your favorite sources. It’s free, with limited data and daily search limits. (For expanded access, consider a News Nerd subscription.) We also offer a free app for Apple and Android that contains data on all rated sources (daily search limits apply).
Want to keep up on all of our Media Bias Chart® releases? Sign up for our free biweekly email newsletter!
Beth Heldebrandt is a Media Research Specialist at Ad Fontes Media. She has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of journalism and public relations, and was an adjunct instructor of journalism for 17 years at Eastern Illinois University. Beth has a B.A. in journalism from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and an M.A. in English from Eastern Illinois University. She’s a mom and grandma, and enjoys traveling, puzzles and reading.
