• They study alternative perspectives and world views, learning how to interpret events from multiple viewpoints.
• They seek understanding and insight through multiple sources of thought and information, not simply those of the mass media.
• They learn how to identify the viewpoints embedded in news stories.
• They mentally rewrite (reconstruct) news stories through awareness of how stories would be told from multiple perspectives.
• They analyze news constructs in the same way they analyze other representations of reality (as some blend of fact and interpretation).
• They assess news stories for their clarity, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth, and significance.
• They notice contradictions and inconsistencies in the news (often in the same story).
• They notice the agenda and interests served by a story.
• They notice the facts covered and the facts ignored.
• They notice what is represented as as fact (that is in dispute).
• They notice questionable assumptions implicit in stories.
• They notice what is implied (but not openly stated).
• They notice what implications are ignored and what are emphasized.
• They notice which points of view are systematically put into a favorable light and which in an unfavorable light.
• They mentally correct stories reflecting bias toward the unusual, the dramatic, and the sensational by putting them into perspective or discounting them.
• They question the social conventions and taboos being used to define issues and problems.

As appeared in: Paul, R. and Elder, L. (2003). The Thinker's Guide For conscientious Citizens on How to Detect Media Bias & Propaganda in National and World News. Foundation for Critical Thinking. (p. 26).

Last updated by Snea Thinsan on 02/17/2008