These websites present views on media bias. Several rate media outlets for bias as left, center or right. These websites may themselves have a bias.
Poynter, a media training organization, discusses the problems with media bias charts at: https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/media-literacy/2021/should-you-trust-media-bias-charts/
Poynter's Guide to Mis-Information Actions Around the World
Note that Poynter includes PolitiFact, a fact checker service that AllSides rates as left of center.
The IFJ Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists is at: https://www.ifj.org/who/rules-and-policy/global-charter-of-ethics-for-journalists.html
You want reliable sources of information for your academic research as well as for your personal use. Look for the following qualities in information you find:
Authority
Check to see if the author and publisher are reputable. For example, is there any indication that the author is an expert in the subject presented?
Even if an author is an expert, he or she may still be biased. The same holds true of media outlets. A newspaper, for example, may have supposedly objective articles that are written with a bias. A broadcast media program may interview an expert that is biased, without interviewing other experts with differing points of view. Also, journalists may interview other journalists as if they are unbiased experts. In these cases, the interviewed journalist is often called a "correspondent."
Ask:
What are the author’s qualifications?
Is the organization publishing the information legitimate?
Accuracy
Look for some indication that care has been taken to get the facts right. Often neither editors nor fact checkers are mentioned in a source. If, however, the author or organization involved have a reputation to maintain, then it is likely that steps are being taken to insure accuracy.
Ask:
Is there a reputation for accuracy to uphold?
Is there an editor or fact checker?
Are sources of information cited for verification?
Are there signs of carelessness, such as poor grammar, misspelled words, and typographical errors?
Are facts well organized? For example, are lists, tables, or graphs used?
Is coverage of the material complete and comprehensive? Beware of excerpts that leave out important information.
Objectivity
Look for evidence of bias. Biased information can still be useful if presented responsibly. You may find useful information in well-reasoned arguments that you can use in formulating your own arguments. However, using information from relatively unbiased information sources will cast less suspicion on your own arguments. If, for example, you cite statistics from a government agency’s website rather than from an advocacy group’s web site, your arguments will have more credibility.
Ask:
Does the information presented favor a particular viewpoint? Is the content opinionated?
Are the organization’s or author’s biases or purposes clearly stated?
Is the information being used to sell something, as in an infomercial?
Is advertising and promotional material clearly differentiated from information?
Currency
If up-to-date information is important in your research, look for indications that the information you are finding is indeed current enough for your purposes.
Ask:
Does the information source show when it was published or last updated?
For web pages, ask:
Does the information on the page have a date?
Are links still valid? Outdated links are a sign of neglect.
Reasonableness
After looking at the information, do a reality check. Your commonsense, and probably more importantly, the knowledge you gain from preliminary research, such as from reading reputable encyclopedia articles, will often tell you if you should question the truthfulness of the information.
Ask:
Is the information hard to believe?
Are extreme claims being made?
Is the truth being stretched?
Is any of the information presented contrary to what you know to be true?
Are there contradictions within the information presented?
For further reading:
“Evaluating resources” by the UC Berkeley Library
https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/evaluating-resources
Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking by Dennis Q. McInerny
Available through the Austin Community College Libraries
A Rulebook for Arguments by Anthony Weston
Chapter 4 addresses informed and impartial sources of information
Available through the Austin Community College Libraries
Many approaches to evaluating media and information for bias have been formulated. They tend to have a heuristic, or "rule of thumb" approach which can often be inadequate. An example of such an approach would advise one to consider the following to determine the reliability of an information source:
Credibility