This article, adapted from the book
How to Read a Paragraph: The Art of Close Reading by Richard Paul and Linda Elder, has some good points on critically reading the news. One of the simplest tips, however, and one of my all-time favorites, is
Betteridge's Law of Headlines:
"Any headline which ends in a question mark can be answered by the word 'no'."
Helpful to remember the next time you're being bombarded by sensationalism.