I sometimes fear that by reading a newspaper I might accidentally ingest a pre-prepared, carefully executed, one-sided opinion that clouds my own judgement. Because often I'm afraid that that is what journalism is forced to be. An unapologetic sausage factory of biased, untruthful propaganda for extreme left or right wing politics. Or essentially a lazy man's guide on what to know and what to think on a government party of their choice.
I never, ever completely believe what I read or see through media for the dread of having a forced outlook thrust upon my unsuspecting self. If the subject is interesting enough for me to want to form an educated opinion then I might look elsewhere for opposing information or for typicality of the source to make absolute certainty that what I have just read is close to the truth. What I always do without fail, however, is take a mental note to always make sure that my own opinion and judgement has not been incorrectly affected by the deliberate release of certain information by the media.
Perhaps my wariness of newspapers and their selective journalism has been enhanced after my reading of Orwell's 1984. Just the idea of ruthless censorship and total control over how a body of people think is enough to make my skin crawl. I am inspired to keep myself separate from being too loyal to a governing body, or from any society when approaching how I judge and view things. For following a general consensus of opinion can only destroy and damage individualistic thinking.
Fortunately I think that by always having an awareness of the information you receive everyday can help you form opinions that are truly your own and formed by nobody but yourself. If the question "why am I being told this?" is constantly running through your mind you can dodge indoctrination and stay true to yourself, without the fear of your thoughts being damaged goods of a forceful approach to journalism and news reporting.
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