We are in the age of information. Not only do we have access to search engines to find the answers to all our questions, but we are constantly being bombarded through news media, social media, and advertising with more information than ever before. And when you are in a position where every day is a new story, it can be hard to know what to pay attention to. Furthermore, when everyone is sharing information and news from their preferred news outlet it becomes obvious that not all news is created equal. 

So in today’s editorial, I want to provide some tips on how to make sense of the news and how to engage critically. Now I am far from the first Arthur editor to address this topic but I hope I can bring something new to you.

Firstly, it is important to remember that newspapers are groups of people with different interests and opinions who write for the same paper. On a small scale here at Arthur, all of our staff have different opinions, life experiences, interests, and writing styles. We come together under the belief that student news is vital and brings vibrancy to our community. On a larger scale, many newspapers in this day and age are owned by mass media conglomerates. For example, The Peterborough Examiner is owned by Torstar/Metroland, a company that owns other news outlets such as The Hamilton Spectator, Niagara Falls Review, Thornhill Liberal, Uxbridge Times-Journal, Erin Advocate, and Etobicoke Guardian. This conglomerate owns and publishes over eighty local newspapers. In fact, your home newspaper is probably owned by Torstar. There is often heavy cross-posting between these outlets with only a few reporters employed locally for each paper. 

Now we know journalists are not a monolithic group who all have one big group text; let's consider how to know what papers you should be reading. Largely, there is merit in most news outlets. I can name a number of papers where I fundamentally disagree with their content (see: The Daily Mail) but if I want to fight for a free press it cannot only be for opinions I agree with. 

In general, when people who are not regular newspaper readers want recommendations I have a few ready to go. Firstly, find the biggest newspaper in your local area (for us this is the Peterborough Examiner); this paper, although likely owned by a conglomerate, will tend to be the first to report on key issues locally and will often have strong connections to the community. Then, find an alternative local paper (of course here I would recommend Arthur but also our friends at Peterborough Currents) who often give space to less mainstream stories or provide an alternative take on major issues. By now with just two papers you will find a wide variety of reporters and you will be able to assess how the reporting differs. And finally, find two or three reputable national newspapers. These papers will often deal with stories that affect Canada as a whole and even international news. With there being so many major news outlets it is not possible to follow them all, so choose a few that tell a wide range of stories.

Finally, when you are consuming news, in whatever form this takes, you must be vigilant and critical. It can be all too easy to take the first piece of reporting you read as fact. But it is the responsibility of the consumer to seek out sources that corroborate the information you are reading. Sometimes this is a difficult task, but to just simply read the headlines is not enough. In a society where we cannot avoid news and information, we should all be working to understand truly what it is we are reading. 

Journalism as an industry is in a period of change. With new blood entering the industry  brings new ideas and lived experiences. We are moving past the idea of pure objectivity and learning that we should be acknowledging our biases and considering how they inform our opinions.

This is what the free press is all about. The chance for everyone to voice their opinions whether you like it or not. Here at Arthur, we place few limitations on the content our staff and contributors produce because this is the voice of campus and you are the people providing that voice.