Negative news may be good reporting

When a news source writes a negative story about a public figure that I admire, I immediately become defensive. I accuse the news source of bias. I might go so far as to call it fake news. Except the story may be true, or as close as good journalism can get to accuracy. And when news sources write negative stories about a favored person or policy, we might just as wisely question our own opinions. If we start with the assumption that all public figures and their actions and their intended actions, are sometimes (not always) flawed, we might be more objective about what we read or hear? Negative news may be good reporting. Our Party's heroes may be flawed, even badly flawed. And their policies may do far more harm than good. Good citizenship and Party loyalty (they should coincide) is not about just staking yard signs and celebrating victories. It requires taking seriously negative reporting about leaders of both parties and their policies. The nation suffers when either of our two major parties stop thinking seriously about new information and new ideas, especially when it is critical of their own Party's leaders. Most serious news sources try to provide accurate coverage of national leaders and policies and generally succeed, even if they sometimes show a bias. They aren't "fake news" just because their stories expose corruption and incompetence on "our side." Do professional news writers make mistakes? Of course. And when they do, is this "fake news?" It is almost always corrected by the news source if it is a professional journal or paper. News is fast developing in many instances, and the first reports are rushed and lack information that subsequentially will come to light. Read with care. And will the biases we all have affect how we tell a story, or judge a dispute? Are we human? The bottom line is this. If you don't like the reporting of a major TV network, or a local or national newspaper, or one of many serious and professionally edited journals, you are far more likely to have discovered one of your own biases, than "false news." John Bing is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Heidelberg University and writes a by-weekly newsletter at johnb0c.substack.com