Blogs AllSides

Media Bias Alert: PBS Newshour and Maternity Leave

Bias / May 11th, 2021 / By Julie Mastrine

A recent Instagram post by PBS Newshour (Center bias) seemed to display media bias by omission . The post includes a graphic that reads, “The US offers 0 weeks of guaranteed parental leave.” The next slide compares “government-guaranteed paid leave for birthing parents” in the US to the...

Family And Marriage, Media Bias, Bias By Omission

“Birthing People” or “Mothers”? Debate Ignites Over Mother’s Day Weekend

Bias / May 10th, 2021 / By Julie Mastrine

“Birthing people” or “mothers”? An online debate was sparked by Missouri Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush over Mother’s Day weekend after she used the term "birthing people'' in a speech in Congress, and Twitter lit up with controversy. Some people have advocated for the term birthing...

Mother's Day, Transgender Issues, Women's Issues

The Verdict

Recommended Reading / May 10th, 2021 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared as a Braver Angels newsletter. To subscribe to Braver Angels, sign up here . From the Center This piece is from a writer rated Center. I was relieved after the verdict was delivered in the trial of Derek Chauvin. Like all of us, I remember the...

Derek Chauvin Trial, George Floyd, Police, Justice

When Liz Cheney and Facebook End Up on the Same Side

Recommended Reading / May 7th, 2021 / By Dan Schnur

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. As Liz Cheney heads for the exit door of Donald Trump’s Republican Party with her guns blazing, it’s difficult to tell whether she represents the GOP’s future or its past. Unlike Mitt Romney, whose defiance in the face of...

Politics, Republican Party, Donald Trump, Liz Cheney

Story of the Week: Biden's Presidency Hits 100-Day Mark

Story of the Week / May 6th, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Sign up here to receive the Story of the Week in your inbox every Thursday. President Joe Biden's administration hit its 100th day last week. The first few months of Biden's presidency have been marked by his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, calls for social justice and police reform,...

Story Of The Week, Joe Biden, White House, Politics

USA TODAY, Stacey Abrams and the Perils of Stealth Editing

Recommended Reading / May 5th, 2021 / By Henry A. Brechter

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. Mistakes are an inevitable part of journalism. But how publications fix those mistakes is more important and telling of their ethical principles. Gannett, the publishing company that owns USA TODAY (Center bias) and roughly 100...

Media Bias, Media Literacy, Stacey Abrams, AllSides Standards

Surveys Show Majority of Republicans Believe Government Must Tackle Student Loan Debt

Recommended Reading / May 5th, 2021 / By Bella Jasper

Updated October 2022 Many Americans see the benefits of a college degree, such as opportunities for well-paying jobs. Yet over the years, college costs have become extremely high, both from private and public colleges . This increase has led to more and more debt -- a total of about $1.75...

Student Loans, Economic Policy, Economy And Jobs, Republican Party, Democratic Party, United News Roundup

Empathy and Appreciation for Bill and Melinda Gates

Recommended Reading / May 4th, 2021 / By John Gable, AllSides Co-founder

In the current media environment where bitter social media mobs , desperate-for-clicks news outlets and holier-than-thou pundits pile on to criticize and make fun of the Gates, let me take a different stance. Bill and Melinda Gates appear to be divorcing after 27 years of marriage ...

Empathy, Culture, Bill Gates

Odd Couples: Michelle + George

Recommended Reading / May 4th, 2021 / By Respect + Rebellion

Note: This piece was originally created by The Village Square and published on respectandrebellion.com . “I’m kind of a needler, and she handles it pretty well.” - President George W. Bush on First Lady Michelle Obama Theirs isn't a story of political foes taking on the biggest, hardest,...

Odd Couples, Culture, George Bush, Michelle Obama

How Joe Biden Can Renew America’s National Dialogue

Recommended Reading / May 3rd, 2021 / By Eugene B. Kogan

Reweaving the fabric of civil dialogue must be a national priority, and mediation is the way to do it right. “Too many Americans see our public life, not as an arena for mediation of our differences,” Joe Biden has observed , but “as an occasion for total, unrelenting, partisan warfare.”...

Joe Biden, Bipartisanship

Political Polarization is the New Bigotry

Recommended Reading / May 3rd, 2021 / By Rolf Hendriks

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. Decades ago, it was common for parents to condemn the idea of their son or daughter marrying a partner of another race, or of a different religion, or from the same sex. Times have changed, and parents have become much more...

United News Roundup, Polarization, Culture

AllSides Live: Balanced News and Media Literacy

Bias / May 3rd, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

AllSides Live, our Instagram Live show , recently featured Henry A. Brechter, the managing editor of AllSides. Henry oversees the AllSides news operation, and leads strategy and development around news content. Tune in to hear him discuss balanced news and media literacy with our host,...

Podcast, Media Literacy

Biden moved left. But is he dividing or uniting the country?

Recommended Reading / April 30th, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on usatoday.com under the headline, "Biden said he wanted to unite Americans. Then he moved further to the political left." In our world where agreement, especially among the politically fractured media, is rare, there seems to be a general...

Joe Biden, Polarization

When Big Government Makes a Comeback

Recommended Reading / April 30th, 2021 / By Dan Schnur

The era of small government is over. Technically speaking, there was never really an era of small government in modern America history. It was more of a rhetorical device and overall attitude toward government spending than a set of policies that were ever enacted. But when Bill Clinton...

Role Of Government, Joe Biden, White House, Economic Policy, Federal State And Tribal Powers

Story of the Week: CDC Says Vaccinated People Usually Don't Need Masks Outside

Story of the Week / April 29th, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Sign up here to receive the Story of the Week in your inbox every Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidelines on Tuesday regarding mask-wearing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, saying vaccinated people can go maskless outside in most situations...

Story Of The Week, Coronavirus Recovery, Coronavirus, Safety And Sanity During COVID-19

How You Can Depolarize Yourself and America: The Best 7 Ideas from Early 2021

Recommended Reading / April 27th, 2021 / By Jackson Lanzer

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. How can I depolarize myself? How can I depolarize others in my network? I searched across the web for thought leaders who can help answer these questions. The links below are all from early 2021. Some links are nearly entirely...

United News Roundup, Polarization

The History of American Media Bias, Pt. 3: The 1900s-1950s

Bias / April 23rd, 2021 / By Micaela Ricaforte

Click here for Part 1 of this series: The Press in Colonial America and Creation of the 1st Amendment and Part 2: The 1800s . Today, we hold journalists and media outlets accountable to journalistic code of ethics and a set of standards, which include truth, transparency, and objectivity...

Media Bias, Media Industry, Media Literacy, History, Culture, Polarization

/Story of the Week: Derek Chauvin Found Guilty On All Charges In George Floyd's Death

Story of the Week / April 22nd, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Sign up here to receive the Story of the Week in your inbox every Thursday. On Tuesday, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the May 2020 death of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests and riots against racism and police shootings...

Story Of The Week, Derek Chauvin Trial, George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, George Floyd Protests, Police, Race And Racism, Minneapolis, Justice Department

Did The New York Times Spread Misinformation About a Capitol Officer’s Death?

Bias / April 22nd, 2021 / By Julie Mastrine

Earlier this week, it emerged that Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes a day after the January 6 riot at the Capitol, according to a ruling by the District’s chief medical examiner. The ruling means federal prosecutors will likely be...

New York Times, Disinformation, Capitol Chaos, Brian Sicknick, Media Bias, Misinformation

When Selective Outrage Takes Over Congress

Recommended Reading / April 22nd, 2021 / By Dan Schnur

I’ll admit that I have little use for Marjorie Taylor Greene. Similarly, I’ve never thought that highly of Maxine Waters either. Both represent an ideologically extreme and unnecessarily combative approach to representative governance that I find counterproductive. As a result of their...

US Congress, Polarization, Politics, Elections, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Maxine Waters, Culture, Violence In America

Perspectives Blog

How Will Israel Respond to Iran's Attack?