1. Can you believe everything you read?
credibility
Can you believe everything you read?

2. Do you believe…
…what you read in the newspaper?

3. Do you believe…
…what you see on the TV news?

4. Do you believe …
…one network more than another?

5. Do you believe…
…what you read on the Internet?

6. Do you believe…
…what you read in the National Enquirer?

7. “Credibility”
“The degree to which the public believes what it reads & hears.”

8. How do you achieve credibility?
Be accurate
Be unbiased
Avoid apparent conflicts of interest

9. Accuracy Get facts right How do you make sure your facts are right?
Name (spelling)
Age
Hometown
Numbers—scores, dollar amounts, credits, grades
How do you make sure your facts are right?
Double-check
Two sources

10. Unbiased
“Bias” – a tendency that prevents unprejudiced consideration of an issue
To be unbiased is to be fair, balanced, objective
fair = honest reporting
balanced = both sides of an issue
objective = without preconceptions

11. “Objectivity”
A lack of personal feelings or bias

12. Avoid apparent conflicts of interest
Conflict of interest = when one of a person’s interests is advanced or improved at the expense of another
Journalists shouldn’t write about people/events they can’t be objective about
When necessary, journalists should reveal their conflict of interest/lack of objectivity