Overview

Ad Fontes Media rated OZY in the Skews Left category of bias and as Reliable, Analysis/Fact Reporting in terms of reliability. OZY was a media and entertainment company described as “forward-looking media focused on the new and the next.” Its goal was to reach the Change Generation via a variety of platforms, including a website, podcasts, television and festivals. OZY launched in 2013 and shut down temporarily in late September 2021 after its business practices came under scrutiny. OZY officials have been investigated for fraud, and the company has stopped presenting new content.

Overall Score

The following were the overall bias and reliability scores for OZY according to our Ad Fontes Media ratings methodology. Ozy Media closed in March 2023 after its owner was indicted on federal fraud charges.

Reliability: 40.56

Bias: -7.40

Panels of analysts from Ad Fontes Media regularly review representative sample content to rate it for reliability and bias. Each panel of analysts comprises one left-leaning, one right-leaning, and one center-leaning analyst.

The team considers a variety of factors when rating content. To determine its reliability score, we consider the content’s veracity, expression, its title/headline, and graphics. We add each of these scores to the chart on a weighted scale, with the average of those creating the sample content’s overall reliability score.

To determine sample content’s bias score, we consider its language, its political position, and how it compares to other reporting or analysis from other sources on the same topic. We add each of these scores to the chart on a weighted scale, with the average of those creating the content’s overall bias score.

The bias rating, demonstrated on the Media Bias Chart^®️ on the horizontal axis, ranges from most extreme left to middle to most extreme right. The reliability rating, demonstrated on the chart’s vertical axis, rates sources on a scale from original fact reporting to analysis, opinion, propaganda and inaccurate/fabricated information.

Reliability scores for articles and shows are on a scale of 0-64. Scores above 40 are generally good; scores below 24 are generally problematic. Scores between 24-40 indicate a range of possibilities, with some sources falling there because they are heavy in opinion and analysis, and some because they have a high variation in reliability between articles.

Bias scores for articles and shows are on a scale of -42 to +42, with higher negative scores being more left, higher positive scores being more right, and scores closer to zero being minimally biased, equally balanced, or exhibiting a centrist bias.