Fact-Checking Like the Pros Editing

Editing is more than commas & AP style An important editing job is fact-checking. Although reporters THINK they look over their work, and editors think they do, too, fact-checking is more than that. In today’s media-rich world, sometimes sources get things wrong, and it’s important for all media to maintain its credibility by getting it right. Let’s look at methods newsroom pros use, too, and apply them to our own student media.

Start with the reporter: Ask sources to spell name and title; then verify what you wrote. Transcribe notes as soon as you leave the interview. Ask for (and check) source when someone cites numbers. Ask “How do you know that?” Ask yourself “What don’t I know?” Then try to find out. Look for documentation elsewhere. Check reliable sources to verify claims. Adapted from “Why Journalism Professors Should Teach Checklists,” by Steve Buttry, MediaShift, Feb.2, 2015

As the copy editor, check: Numbers (addresses, ages, distances, money) Phone numbers (call them) All math (calculate again and have someone else do it, too) Names (check in reporter notes and directory) Titles (people’s IDs, books, etc.) Locations (logical? accurate? Check a map) Check attribution (insert link if from the web) Definitions URLs (do they still work?) Some editors CIRCLE all facts and then go back to check them. Others make the print much larger and read backwards to spot items that should always be checked.

As the copy editor, check: Spelling and grammar Spellchecker errors (their/there, it’s/its) Assumptions? (If you can’t verify, remove) Doubts? Recheck with the reporters or original source. Tough topic you’re not sure you understand? (Find an expert who does and read it to him/her)

One metropolitan newspaper that started using a checklist with a group of reporters and editors for eight months in 1999 and 2000, said that group “had 10 percent fewer errors than a similar group not using the checklist.” ”Checklist Charlie: Checklists can help journalists do better work,” by Craig Silverman, Columbia Journalism Review, Feb. 6, 2009