I Want Facts, Not Opinions

I was flipping through television stations recently. The right-leaning news channel was talking about how the government rescued “billionaire Democrat donors” by protecting the depositors of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The left-leaning news channel was focused on why Donald Trump should be arrested for paying off Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election. What I found most fascinating is neither channel, which were supposedly showing news shows, not editorial shows, offered much in facts regarding each issue. Both had “experts” being interviewed by their respective hosts that were telling their audiences why their opinions were correct. How either network gets away with calling any of what I watched news is beyond me.

Early in my career, I was an equity analyst. One of the senior portfolio managers drilled into me that primary research was the only way to understand a company. He told me to read their SEC filings, visit their operations, and to try their products and services. “Only read the analyst reports to get a gauge on sentiment. Find the facts yourself,” he said, often more colorfully than I articulated here. 

Unfortunately, in the era of endless information, it is often hard to find facts that are not clouded with opinions. My only solution is to get information from many sources and understand who is providing that information and what their objectives are. I’d love to know if anyone has any better ideas.