Parsing the role of context to evaluate a news source

The context of the entire news site also has relevance in the authority and validity of the news resource. Understanding the tone of the broader site will give a sense of the bias and level of authority used in creating news articles.

Consider...

Tone and Subject Content of other Articles

what other stories or articles have been posted to the "news" website? Do many or most of the stories seem to be overly concerned with a single topic, or is there a diversity of coverage? are the positions and reporting consistent through time?

Publisher

can you locate the publisher information? is this easy or difficult to find? who is the publisher? do they have a separate vision and mission statement than the news source?

Editorial Board

is there an identifiable chief editor and editorial board? what distinction is made between news reporters and their role in news coverage versus the editorial board members and their role in expressing the newspaper's opinion via editorials, political endorsements, etc.?