Fact vs Fiction: Who Can You Trust?

Don’t believe everything you read or see online!

Why is one news source more trustworthy than another?

Why is this media site gaining respectability?

Why believe one, not the other?

A journalist’s job is to gather information and verify whether it’s true—and then report on it.

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Journalists sometimes scam the public like “lying” Brian Williams

Journalists and news outlets use this standard to determine truth and accuracy: V.I.A. V erification I ndependence A ccountability

Verification This is the process that establishes whether something is true and accurate--or not.

President Lisa has been shot in her office—is it true? How do you prove it?

Find more than one good source: Go to the scene—her office. Ask an official from the college to confirm. Check with the police and hospital where she was taken. Interview eyewitnesses. Call her family for comment.

Independence Journalists and news outlets must be free from the control, influence or support of interested parties, coupled with a conscious effort to set aside any pre- existing beliefs and a system of checks and balances.

You work at Reuters News Service and the Dominican Republic Tourist Bureau offers you an all-expense paid trip to cover a new resort in Santo Domingo. Should you take it?

You’re a correspondent at ABC News and your husband becomes the governor of California. Should you stay in your job?

You land an exclusive interview with an up-and-coming rapper for Vibe Magazine. He asks for $300. Should you pay?

But….ethics are eroding: ABC paid accused murder $200,000 for exclusive rights (photos, video) to her story

People Magazine paid $4 million in 2005 and $14 million in 2008 for exclusive Jolie-Pitt family photos; the money was donated to charity—but still!

You’re a reporter at Businessweek. You get a hot tip to buy stock in Makerbot which makes 3 D printers, so you purchase some shares. You then get assigned to write about the 3-D printer craze. Should you?

The rules? You can’t be paid to report a story. At the highest levels, you can’t pay someone to give you the story. You can’t write about your family or friends. You can’t report on a company that you work for, own stock in, have a vested interest in. You can’t go on a trip that a company pays for and then write about the destination.

A journalist or legitimate news outlet must be accountable: Use named sources or have notes and recordings to prove that the reporting is correct. Use bylines so you know who wrote the story. Make corrections if necessary—rather than leave mistakes on the record.

New York Times is serious about corrections:

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What’s a good source of information?

Good Sources for your research (never use just one!) Search engines—google, yahoo, msn etc. News sites and content aggregators: NYTimes.com, cnn.com, pbs.org, yahoo and google news. Databases: Nexis/Lexis Government websites: city, state, federal Independent, nonprofit organizations: American Heart Association A person’s own website.

To be a smart consumer of news: 1. Ask yourself, what am I looking at? 2. Think critically about the source? 3. Learn to spot bias. 4. Beware of wikipedia. 5. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled.

What am I looking at? Is it news? Opinion? A blog? Gossip? Advertising? Propaganda?

Know the difference between news and opinion (these journalists are paid to be opinionated!)

Think critically about the source. Who created the report? For what purpose? How was the information verified? Is it presented in a way that’s fair? FOLLOW THE $$$$$$$$

Learn to spot bias. Watch for loaded or inflammatory words. Does the author have an agenda? The news outlet? Are all sides of the story presented? Did the subject respond?

Journalists and news outlets use this V erify information Are I ndependence Are A ccountable to the public

As a consumer of media, don’t forget to: 1. Ask yourself, what am I looking at? 2. Think critically about the source? 3. Learn to spot bias. 4. Beware of wikipedia. 5. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled.