With a wide range of media sources, news outlets prioritize what is considered "news" based on their values, which leads to a problem if readers rely on only one news source.
WLNY News, New York Times' front page, Facebook, BuzzFeed News—all sources for one's daily information. Yet, if one were to look at the NY Times, the first thing they would see is an article on the Chelsea explosion in addition to stories about Trump, a Chicago shooting victim, and the Syrian president. Since they have such a large audience, the NY Times focuses on important events and stories that pertain to everyone.
On Facebook, the trending stories are much different. With headlines about Mel Gibson, Miley Cyrus and a 12-year-old winning America’s Got Talent, the stories are more about celebrity and entertainment news, especially since only 2 of the ten trending stories were about world events, such as TNT traces found on EgyptAir debris.
BuzzFeed News does offer light-hearted stories like Facebook, but they tend to focus more on national and world events. With stories regarding Brexit and an Iranian cyclist dying during the Rio Paralympics, BuzzFeed News offers a wide range of news to peruse through, ones that are funny and serious.
WLNY broadcast news station focuses on important news occurring throughout the country, such as the Minnesota mall stabbing, but they also focus on more local stories, such as Long Island schools doubling recess time.
Every news source focuses on two key values—proximity and timeliness. They want to be the first source on a specific event and they want to make sure their readers would be interested in the stories, especially if they are occurring nearby.
Each news source offers a distinct array of stories, but a problem occurs when individuals only read one news source. Someone who only reads the NY Times will have a very different outlook on the world than one who only goes on Facebook for their news. With writer biases as well as outlets curating stories to the specific reader, it creates a narrowed view of the news and unless the reader looks at other options, they will go about believing the world is the way their news source thinks it is.
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