I don't think it has much to do with patriotism, but it isn't a bad idea, provided (and this is the big caveat) that one does so with a modicum of critical thinking.
I don't care whether you're watching Fox or CNN, or reading the Economist or the Village Voice, the Neo-Nazi Quarterly or the Journal of Marxist-Leninist Thought, but you should not make any of them an alternative for thinking for yourself.
Unfortunately, too many people are too lazy or too poorly equipped to think for themselves.
