Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart

Ad Fontes (founded. 2018)  has studied 3600 news sources, 700 podcasts and 474 TV/viideo programs, evaluating them on a two-point methodology.. In some circles, it's simply referred to as "The Chart" -- a mark of its reach and growing influence.

The bias rating, on the horizontal axis, ranges from most extreme left to middle to most extreme right. The reliability rating, demonstrated on the chart’s vertical axis, rates sources on a scale from original fact reporting to analysis, opinion, propaganda and inaccurate/fabricated information.

https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/

static image of the Ad Fontes Media Chart with horizontal axis showing bias from left to right and vertical axis showing reliability ratings high to low

Individual Source Ratings

News Source Ratings: Profiles by Title 

Although not all sources from The Chart are listed on this page, it's sometimes an easy way  to find and isolate descriptions of major news and broadcast outlets.  Profile pages describe methodology, and provide overall scores for both reliability and political "lean." They link back to the larger Ad Fontes interactive Chart, so you can see a news outlet in context and in comparison to others. 

Interesting to Note: Many source profiles include content samples (individual articles or a particular broadcast), with reliability/bias ratings.

  • Reliability scores for articles and shows are on a scale of 0-64. Scores above 40 are generally good; scores below 24 are generally problematic.

Scores between 24-40 indicate a range of possibilities, with some sources falling there because they are heavy in opinion and analysis, and some because they have a high variation in reliability between articles.

  • Bias scores for articles and shows are on a scale of -42 to +42, with higher negative scores being more left, higher positive scores being more right, and scores closer to zero being minimally biased, equally balanced, or exhibiting a centrist bias.

The Chart in Debate

Complex or clickbait?: The Problematic Media Bias Chart (ACRL Blog, 2021) 

  • Reader comments are worth perusing, too. 

What the ACRL Blog Critique Misses About the Media Bias Chart (April 2021)

  • The Ad Fontes Response. 

Is the Media Bias Chart Biased? (2022)