The media are biased in different ways , in varying degrees, and for various reasons. They're also, at times, voyeuristic, unprofessional, vapid, and incorrect. We are slaves to the news. Must to media literacy and it describes the set of skills we all have (or hope to have) that allow us to "access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information" from a wide variety of media. It's the ability to discern fact from fluff, and information from entertainment. It's an important skill, like knowing how to read. There are so many news outlets available to us today. There are more TV news stations, websites, and an infinite number of blogs willing to impart their spin, their opinion, or their version of the facts. In a way, this can be beneficial to society, but only if we, as consumers, have the tools necessary to distinguish fact from the vast mountain of information at our fingertips. Public opinion is only as powerful as our media literacy is sharp. So we can do Vary our sources read the newspaper, listen to news radio, watch your local news, and test out different outlets. Embrace bias can give us a better understanding of the news. You'd think they weren't watching the same thing. Reading, watching, and listening with a critical eye and an engaged mind will increase media literacy and make you a more effective news consumer. Especially on 24-hour cable news. Getting information quickly is one of the greatest gifts of our modern age, but when it comes to news, it shouldn't be at the expense of quality. It makes the whole industry look laughably inadequate when they misreport important news with such regularity and without apology. Social media isn't news can help incite a revolution. But that doesn't make it a legitimate source for news. Facebook and twitter factoids, updates, and hashtag are no replacement for journalistic reporting, no matter how attractive a shortcut it may seem. And anyone who tries to tell you otherwise doesn't know what news is. Following these guidelines and becoming more media literate will help keep our politicians more honest, those with power more accountable, and our world more hopeful. Plus, it will make you look really smart at dinner parties.