Critical Thinking Resources and Handouts

U.K. Newspapers

There is no easy way to divide newspapers along political lines. Traditionally, the Guardian and the Mirror are papers of the left, the Independent of the centre and the rest to the right. In reality, the picture is much more complicated. Our three mainstream political parties themselves cannot easily be classified with the simple language of left and right anymore and the newspapers do not simply endorse the manifesto of one party or the other. Nevertheless, it is still true to say that the Guardian and Mirror are to the left and the Sun, Mail and Express to the right.

Tabloid newspapers have always had a reputation for inculcating opinions and stirring emotions in their readers with shorter articles and emotive language. They have also been famed for their sensationalism; the obsession with celebrities is a modern development of this. Allegations of misleading reporting are nothing new but in today's on-line world, they have led to sites being set up that analyse and expose dubious or downright false claims. This is not to say that the broadsheets are beacons of quality. Journalist and author Nick Davies has coined the term 'churnalism' for news stories that are merely cut-and-paste jobs from news wire services or press releases from businesses and argues in his recent book Flat Earth News that all newspapers are to some extent guilty. Here are some sites - serious and otherwise - that look at the news. Make a special note of Ben Goldacre's Bad Science site. He exposes bad science reporting in the press and beyond.

Here are some links to newspapers from around the world and magazines that are not so narrowly news-focused.