Find the Truth Outside the Regular News Section

I wrote in my last blog about how difficult it has been to find the truth in the media coverage of this 2012 presidential campaign.  That has applied mostly to the mainstream news departments of television networks, local TV news, and, to a lesser, but still significant extent, to most newspapers' news sections.

That's why this has been such a big deal;  You often cannot find good, substantive versions of the truth in the normal places where you would see it or look for it.

However, if one (like me, a political junkie) looks hard enough, you can find pieces of the truth in magazine articles or on newspapers' editorial pages or occasional television stories or from discussion and commentary on television interview shows.  MSNBC's regular shows on weeknights from Chris Matthews' "Hardball" to Lawrence O'Donnell's "The Last Word" all regularly feature discussion and interviews that at least some of the time, attempt to get at the truth and key aspects driving the main stories on the presidential campaign.  I think O'Donnell is particularly good at not only identifying overlooked angles to campaign developments, but, then, to share his original insights, opinions or arguments.

For example:  try reading this terrific, timely piece by Joan Walsh, the editor of Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/2012.10/23/the_man_without_a_soul/print/)
Or, read about a rare guest appearance on one of the Sunday talk shows when rare guest, Andrew Sullivan, actually expressed spontaneous truths about Mitt Romney in his comments:
(http://news.yahoo.com/andrew-sullivan-mitt-romney-alien-ripped-off-mask-163618529--)
Or, try reading Paul Krugman's New York Times column that appeared the day after the first debate, when he pointed out one of Romney's enormous lies:  (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/opinion/krugman-romneys-sick-joke.html?_r=0&pa)
Or, read Matt Taibbi's thorough, in-depth piece in Rolling Stone on Mitt Romney's record at
Bain Capital:  (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/greed-and-debt-the-true-story-of-mitt-romney-and-bain-capital-20120829)
Or, for a rare, very different take on the first debate, try reading Juan Williams' opinion piece, apparently done for Fox News: (http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/10/04/obama-didnt-lose-debate-romney-didnt-win-it...)
Or, lastly, read an article about the astonishing remark by Neil Newhuose, a Romney pollster, at the Republican National Convention, about fact-checkers:  (http://www.bendbulletion.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120902/NEWSO107/2090020401...)

These are just a few examples, but, in general, seeking publications where truth-seeking and free expression of opinions is encouraged will get you on the right track.