I have designated these sources to be reliable or unreliable based on how they are funded, who owns them, how strong a bias they demonstrate, and whether journalistic integrity is being maintained.

Reliable News Sources:

NPR:  A privately and publicly funded non-profit media organization, National Public Radio (NPR) serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. Based in Washington D.C., NPR is the leading provider of non-commercial (not funded by the government and without ad breaks) news, information and entertainment programming to the American public. NPR was launched in 1970, and is currently among the most viewed news sources in America.

ASSOCIATED PRESS: An American nonprofit news agency based in New York City, reporting both national and global news, Associated Press is a nonprofit cooperative. The Associated Press provides news and graphics to over 1700 member newspapers in 121 countries globally. Associated Press maintains 242 worldwide news bureaus and provides up-to-the-minute financial and sports news, entertainment segments, and Freedom of Information issues and updates. They also have a historical archive of thousands of photos. They were first established in 1848, and are the world’s oldest and largest news organization.

THE WASHINGTON POST: Created in 1889 and publicly owned, The Washington Post and its subsidiaries are leaders in the news and communications media industry. Based on their history, The Washington post has been said to be  nationally respected and influential in how media has developed over time. Their published newspaper has been distributed in Washington D.C. and the adjacent suburban area for over 120 years. The Washington Post has consistently contributed to a large share of the company’s (The Washington Post Company) revenue, and through the company’s class A common stock, the Graham family has maintained effective control over the company. Though it is argued that The Washington Post has a liberal bias, it is also argued that because of their long history they have succeeded in producing works that are generally unbiased.

Unreliable News Sources:

FOX NEWS: Fox News Channel is an American basic cable and satellite news television channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, and is a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. Founded in 1996, Fox News has previously posted false news as fact, such as the in 2010 when they shared as fact on Fox Nation a story posted on the satirical news site “The Onion,”  “Frustrated Obama Sends Nation Rambling 75,000 Word E-mail.” It has also been argued that Fox News has conservative news reporting style.

CNN: Owned by the Turner Broadcasting System, the Cable News Network (CNN) is an American basic cable and satellite television channel. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner, CNN is a 24-hour cable news channel. CNN has also been argued to have a liberal news reporting style.

BUZZFEED: Founded in 2006 by John Johnson and Jonah Peretti, Buzzfeed, a news and entertainment site, is an American Internet media company stationed in New York City. Buzzfeed is described as the “social news and Entertainment Company,” and they strive toward maintaining journalistic integrity. Buzzfeed is known for consistently posting daily content, and are known for their liberal reporting style.  Buzzfeed also has a history of copyright infringement lawsuits, including violating the rights of fair use for images.

For more information on understanding bias in news sources go to:

http://archive.mrc.org/books/identifybias.asp

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-your-preferred-news-outlet-says-about-your-political-ideology-2014-10