Track records of journalists, media outlets and their sources can help determine credibility.

Just as you should examine a housing market's past to understand the present, don't judge a journalist or media outlet solely by the story in front of you. Don't judge a source by single sound bite.

Just as you want a licensed or certified professional helping you buy or sell a home, choose professional media outlets and writers schooled and experienced in the field. Seek sources who provide relevant, balanced comments and information rather then self-serving rabid rhetoric and emotional barbs.

Examine journalists' and media outlets' bios, online "abouts," and past articles as well as their current attention to the housing market.

Journalists who choose real estate as their primary or only beat tend to have the most experience, much like any specialist. Media outlets that devote more time, resources or space to housing market coverage tend to do a better job.

Media experts say the global warming issue was buried so long because the media gave "equal time" to quacks, naysayers and overnight climate change "experts," at the expense of valid information from scientists who spent decades studying the issue.

A news story is simply not always a 50-50 proposition. Some stories are complicated, multi-tiered events that require a series of articles to unfold. Others are a simple set of facts.

Instead of seeking 50-50 balance in every story, determine how well a journalist or media outlet manages balance over time. With balanced coverage there may be "good" news today and "bad" news tomorrow. In the end, after a relative short period of time, a good journalist or media outlet will cover all the bases.

Not all news stories are designed for analysis, but the more the merrier.

Analysis is key in today's real estate market. For example, more than 2 million people are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure during the current housing downturn. So what? What does that mean to me? How can I determine if I'm a likely victim? If I am a likely victim, what can I do to prevent losing my home?

That's analysis.

Here's another example. Lenders are squeezing home buyers for more income and employment documentation, larger down payments and higher credit scores. A story saying so could also tell news consumers how to secure the newly required documentation (even if you work at home); how to find lenders not requiring larger down payments or how making a smaller down payment could cost more; how to raise credit scores and how to seek out more accommodating lenders.

News, in part, is designed to provide information that can be used to make sane decisions. Explaining the options and providing coping techniques aids in the decision making process.

News stories are largely unbiased, objective articles comprised of facts from credible sources including experts and other informed individuals; documents, including studies, reports and polls; and often research to compare and contrast today's information with past information.

News stories can be one or a series of heavy, in-depth, investigative pieces with corroborated facts and information. They can be light features about people, places or things of interest, but again, based on reliable information and facts. And, they can be analysis pieces that offer fact-based advice.

A key giveaway? The professional writing or reporting a news story doesn't use adjectives. Adjectives are subjective, somewhat biased words based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

Seek news stories loaded with credibility, balance and, whenever possible, analysis.

Opinion, editorials, Op-Ed pieces and the like, are the stuff of editorial pages, broadcast shows with a single or combative pair of talking heads, and online, blogs. Opinion pieces are just that, an individual's beliefs, views, judgments or point-of-view about something, and not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. They take a stand.

The best opinion pieces are spun from facts or knowledge and don't just opine or blather on emotionally without offering some solution, alternative or hoped-for outcome.

Generally opinion pieces are labeled as such, or should be, but look for a flurry of adjectives.

Hybrids, like this wonderful article, are a mix of news and opinion, even analysis and can be useful to both make a point and share useful information helpful in making decisions.