5 ways to diversify your news sources

1. By geography

-Subscribe to your local newspaper.

-Read both national and international news.

2. By medium

-To avoid the influence of perspective-limiting algorithms, find news on a different social media platform or get off social media altogether.

-Try out a new-to-you news delivery method. If you usually watch cable news, add in some online news articles or a print magazine. You could also listen to the radio or a podcast.

3. By political bias

-Partial to right-leaning outlets? Use media bias charts to add in reliable outlets that are rated in the center or to the left. (Or vice versa!)

-Seek out opinion articles by people with differing viewpoints on the same topic.

4. By topic

-Check out a section you don’t read often. More into music and pop culture? Spend some time on the opinion page. Love sports? Also look at business and politics.

-For specialized information turn to specialized media outlets, such as science, medical, political, or legal magazines.

5. By race, ethnicity, orientation, religion, ability, or cultural background

-Look for media outlets that center the voice of people of other races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, religions, disabilities, and cultural backgrounds.

-Investigate whether your favorite media outlets are committed to hiring a diverse group of journalists. Encourage those that fall short.

By consuming a diverse cross-section of media outlets, you can better verify the credibility of media reports and identify biases. You will also gain a broader understanding of issues that are impacting people across the country and world.

Be a conscious consumer. Diversify your media diet. 

Sources:

News Literacy Project: "Expand your view with lateral reading," newslit.org.

Forbes: "The importance of diversity in the newsroom," forbes.com.

Lake Forest Library: "How and why to read more diversely," lakeforestlibrary.org.