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Which major US news outlets are rated most neutral by Ad Fontes, Media Bias/Fact Check, and Pew Research?
Executive summary
Major U.S. news outlets that third‑party rating projects typically place nearest the “neutral” or “least biased” categories include the Associated Press, Reuters, PBS/Newshour, and AP sibling sites — findings echoed in Ad Fontes’ Media Bias Chart and in Media Bias/Fact Check’s “Least Biased” lists (Ad Fontes places many national web/print outlets in its center/"green box") [1] [2] [3]. Pew Research Center itself is rated “Least Biased” and “Very High” for factual reporting by Media Bias/Fact Check, but Pew does not publish a single‑outlet neutrality ranking of news outlets; it reports public trust and media‑use data instead [4] [5].
1. What the three raters measure and why that matters
Ad Fontes maps both political bias (left–right) and reliability (fact reporting vs. opinion), showing “green box” center outlets as both low‑bias and high‑reliability; its web/print charts highlight dozens of websites as minimally biased and reliable for a “healthy news diet” [6] [7]. Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC) uses bias and factual‑reporting scales and publishes a “Least Biased” list of sources with minimal loaded language and strong sourcing; MBFC also grades Pew Research itself as “Least Biased” and “Very High” for factual reporting [3] [4]. Pew Research Center, by contrast, is a survey and analysis organization — not a media rating service — so its public reports are about trust and news use rather than naming which outlets are “most neutral”; analysts and libraries point to Pew for public opinion data, not outlet ratings [5] [8].
2. Which big U.S. outlets usually appear as most neutral
Across the cited materials, center‑rated, fact‑focused outlets that commonly appear near the neutral/least‑biased zone include wire services like Associated Press and Reuters, public broadcasters (PBS NewsHour), and some non‑partisan specialty outlets; Ad Fontes’ web/print charts explicitly recommend a roster of “green box” sites for fact‑based, minimally biased news, and MBFC’s “least biased” roster overlaps with many mainstream news and research organizations [7] [1] [3].
3. Where the raters disagree and why
Methodology drives differences. Ad Fontes emphasizes content sampling and a bipartisan analyst panel to map both bias and reliability; it publishes monthly charts with many local and national web/print sources [9] [6]. MBFC combines objective measures and subjective review to assign bias and factual reporting grades and maintains a large searchable database [10] [3]. Pew does not rank outlets but shows users’ trust in outlets and platforms, so you can see which organizations the public perceives as more or less trustworthy — a different concept than an independent content rating [5] [8]. Those different aims explain why an outlet may be “center” on Ad Fontes, “least biased” on MBFC, yet still receive polarized public trust scores in Pew polling [1] [3] [5].
4. Caveats and limitations in the available reporting
Ad Fontes’ charts cover thousands of sources but typically release focused web/print snapshots listing 122–134 sites each month — not every outlet is continuously highlighted [6] [7]. MBFC’s methodology blends objective and subjective judgments and has been used in academic studies, but its ratings are still interpretive [10] [11]. Pew Research Center’s data show public trust trends but does not itself rate outlet neutrality; available sources do not mention Pew publishing an outlet neutrality ranking [5] [8]. Independent commentators and media‑education groups warn that no single chart is definitive and that readers should “read horizontally” across multiple sources [12].
5. Practical takeaway for news consumers
Use the two‑axis approach (bias + reliability) that Ad Fontes offers to find outlets that are both low‑bias and high‑reliability, cross‑check MBFC’s factual‑reporting grades for sourcing and fact checks, and consult Pew polling to understand public trust patterns — then mix coverage across those center/high‑reliability outlets rather than relying on one source alone [6] [3] [5]. Libraries and journalism educators recommend combining these tools for lateral reading instead of treating any one rating as the final word [13] [12].
6. How to verify a specific outlet quickly
Search the Ad Fontes interactive chart or their monthly web/print release to see where an outlet sits on bias and reliability (Ad Fontes has web and app tools) [14] [15]. Look up the outlet on Media Bias/Fact Check for a bias and factual‑reporting entry [3]. Check Pew’s public‑trust and news‑use surveys to see how different demographic groups view that outlet — and remember Pew reports perceptions, not editorial ratings [5] [8].
If you want, tell me three specific U.S. outlets you care about and I’ll pull how Ad Fontes and Media Bias/Fact Check rate each and summarize any relevant Pew trust data referenced in the available reporting.