Search results for "accuracy and fact checking in journalism"

“Accuracy is also a perception and being careful to make sure that you have got things in context and that you understand things fully.” —Courtney Lowery What process do conscientious journalists follow to ensure that their stories meet the standards of their craft? In this audio slide show, we interview three veteran journalists: Amy Gahran, editor of the weblogs Contentious and The Right Conversation (hear her full interview) Brooks Jackson, director of Factcheck.org (hear his full Read more [...]

Before you write The best way to maintain accuracy is to develop a system and stick to it. Take the extra seconds to read back to the interviewee the spelling of his or her name. If you need an age, ask for a birth date and year. Avoid using secondary sources to verify facts. If you have to use secondary sources, find at least two and make sure they agree independently; don’t simply ask one to confirm what the other said. Verify phone/fax numbers, web and email addresses. For example, Read more [...]

Accuracy is the starting point for all good journalism. Get your facts right, then check them again. Know where to look to verify claims or to separate fact from fiction. Being factual has many dimensions. For example, on the Web it’s especially valuable to say what you don’t know, not just what you do — and to ask readers to fill you in as well. Accuracy means correcting what you get wrong, and doing it promptly. This section offers advice from publishers and pioneers in citizen media and Read more [...]

Welcome to Principles of Citizen Journalism. In this special section, our goal is to detail the bedrock foundations of journalism to help citizen reporters master the fundamentals of the craft in a networked age. We’ve interviewed citizen media publishers and thought leaders in an effort to flesh out the core values and tenets of quality journalism at the grassroots level. We’re not saying that bloggers must follow these guidelines. We are saying that if you’re committed to practicing journalism online, these principles deserve your attention. We hope you’ll participate in this ongoing conversation.

Tips for improving accuracy in news stories about you By Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound You spend months convincing a major newspaper to write a story about you and, finally, someone agrees. Instead of being elated, you’re thinking, “I wonder if they’ll let me read the story before it’s printed?” Don’t even ask because not many reputable publications will agree to that request. But any news source can do several things before, during and after the interview to increase the Read more [...]

Matt Foremski, pictured right, tells how he did some citizen sleuthing to discover the true identity of YouTube’s Lonelygirl15. She was not a home-schooled 16-year-old girl named Bree but rather an actress named Jessica Rose, who recently moved from New Zealand to Burbank, Calif. J.D. Lasica caught up with Foremski in an AIM chat to learn the details of how he broke one of the biggest Internet stories of 2006. Q: first off, what’s your age and what do you do? A: I’m 19 now and do some Read more [...]

Here’s a collection of howlers — corrections that newspapers and magazines published because someone fell asleep at the switch. (Have one? Please add it below by posting a comment.) Make sure you never have to publish a correction like one of these. New York Times, April 7, 1995: Because of a transcription error, an article about Senator Alfonse M. D’Amato’s remarks about Judge Lance A. Ito misquoted the Senator at one point. In his conversation with the radio host Don Imus, he said: Read more [...]

“With each mistake you make you lose a piece of your most precious asset:  your credibility.” How should an online publication handle corrections when it publishes a mistake? Should the error remain in the text but flagged? Corrected with an editor’s note? Or should the mistake be struck out? This Flash screencast, Best Practices in Correcting Errors, looks at corrections policies at online publications, including CNET, the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and blogs like Read more [...]

We asked colleagues in the journalism field to tell us about their most memorable journalistic gaffes or foul-ups, as a note of warning to citizen journalists about the importance of checking and double-checking your facts. Here are some of their stories: That sinking feeling In my first daily newspaper job, I was assigned to write about a company in our small city. I misspelled the name of the company wrong all the way through the article. (At least I was consistent.) The next morning the managing Read more [...]

The promises you make can limit what you may legally publish and can subject you to legal risk.  So, it’s important to think twice before committing yourself — whether it’s a formal written agreement, or an e-mailed exchange, or a verbal pact.  Being beholden to sources, subjects, advertisers and others can also undermine your independence and credibility.