Student Zone

Journalism of Verification

Journalists use something akin to a scientific method- a good verification process ensures that what is reported is factual, seperating it from entertainment, art or other forms of media experession. Since the primary obligation (or "first principle") of Journalism is to truth, all sources and locations have to be checked more than once. Every piece of journalism should be verifiable if it is going to be considered as fact, in the same way results of an experiment are only valid if it can be reproduced. The difference is that there is no single or universal system to verification, and that it is determined by the journalist, editor, and the institution for which they work- however there are some broad ideas. The rule of transparency is the most important element because it overcomes limitations journalists face in trying to move from accuracy to truth, and it shows respect for the audience. The trust built through this establishes that a journalist is working in the public interest. A part of transparency is not to mislead sources about who they are, what they are writing, and not revealing the point of the story. The practice of masquarade is sometimes justifiable if the information is sufficently vital to public interest, there is no other way to get the information, but must be explained to the audience. Originality is also important because "matching" stories often leads to incorrect facts being propagated through many media outlets. Humility is important so that one does not misinterpret sources. There are some techniques of verification- skeptical editing, involves finding any assumptions in a story and asking questions. An accuracy checklist can be employed, to verify facts, in an approach that is more methodically objective. Assuming nothing, invoves systematic crosschecking, and not trusting anyone but primary sources. The Colored pencil method is the simplest and it involves going over the story and checking off facts with ticks as they are verified. Anonymous sources may be used when when it can be analytically determined that they are not going to mislead, and are not going to be used as the first quote or officer the opinion of a collegue.

The main purpose of journalism is to bring information to the public, so that they are well-informed and able to make good decisions. An informed public is able to participate in democracy and society.

Journalism also serves to create and define a sense of community for people. People have a built-in desire to know the facts about what is going on around them. The text calls this the “Awareness Instinct.” Once people know what is happening, they can relate it to their own lives and plan accordingly. As people discuss and exchange information, bonds are formed and a sense of community is established.

Because of changes in technology and economic factors, the traditional role of journalism is changing as well. For example, due to the large number of news outlets available now (cable news, internet, etc.) the goal of journalism has changed from simply reporting the news to offering stable focus points to help people make sense of it all. Journalists must now put an emphasis on verifying and analyzing information now. Also, technology, conglomeration, and globalization are threatening the important “citizen building” role of journalism.

Journalism is surrounded by skeptics who believe that journalism can not be trusted and that journalists are not concerned about their audience. However, the truth is the idea that journalist are not concerned with the audience are misleading thoughts. "The Elements of Journalism" announces that journalism was for the building of community, citizenship, and democracy. Journalist have designed their mission around making sure that the readers are exposed to true and accurate facts, but not only accurate facts, but the opportunity to decipher what is truth and false, or what can they believe in or what should they dismiss. "The central purpose of journalism is to tell the truth so that people will be sovereign." The Elements of Journalism also refers to "the new journalist is no longer deciding what the public should know. She is helping audiences make order out of it. The first task of new journalist/sense maker, rather, is to verify what information is reliable and then order it so people can grasp it efficiently." Journalist have realized that if readers can not believe in their reportings they have loss the source of what news is. Everyone wants to engage in information concerning their surroundings or distant areas. With truth being the first principle of journalism this purpose will allow readers to respond effectively to the information they have obtained. As Kovach and Rosenstiel state humans have an innate sense of awareness, labeled the awareness instinct. Journalism provides the information that allows the public to receive what they need to know. A journalist job is to sort and report truthful information for their audience. But journalist are reminded that if they error in this process they loose the faith of their audience, which will add to the skepticsm journalist already face today.

When I think of the word journalism, I take the base word journal, see that it in tells either of keeping track or writing about what goes on in the day. Then from there, I take the suffix of journalism and put that as a everyday thing “empowered by a free flow of information”. basically I see journalism as an important summary of the days events. Nobody on this planet likes false information, to be lied to or feel cheated. So when something goes on in the world, we look towards our journalists to give us the undoubting truth that everything will be ok or what to look out for. Each journalist or paper has to build a credit of truth. When a reader picks up a paper or reads the news they want to be as informed with the truth as possible. Once the credit is lost anything that a paper or news station prints could be a lie and no longer a trusted source. Each journalist is responsible for himself and keeping the reader informed. The journalist works for every person that picks up a paper and reads something of interest. So when he/she tells you there was a fire on 22nd street and central, he will have to verify with witnesses, times, and situations. Gaining this will gain you more audience. The journalist gets involved enough to give the information, but not so to give bias of a certain kind prejudice. Stating only facts but not giving opinion takes a lot of focus and control. A journalist has a certain power over others from being able to give information you think feels fit to a situation. A journalist must make sure that the reader knows that you are giving all the information that you know and not holding back.

In my response, I would like to focus on the question of How is verification the essence of journalism?

Verification is what seperates journalism from entertainment, fiction, and art. Journalism focuses on the truth and gets to the core of a story. Like Kovach mentions in his book, without checking sources, seeking more than one witness, and asking for comments from both sides,the stories can be considered false. It can also be deceiving your audience. Just because more than one newspaper has reported the same story, does not make it true. It is good to always check the direct source. It was also noted that many journalists, will report the same story that they saw somewhere else and add on their own version, making the whole story a fabrication of lies. People use the news to plan their own lives, and journalism without verification is false and useless to them. Selecting sources that only share your viewpoint can also be considered a form of deception. This damages the credibility of the profession, because it makes the story seem biased. Lying to sources about the nature of the story, is also deceiving your audience. Also,if the source is not considered credible to everyone, or could be considered a bias source, the source should be named so that the audience can interepret themselves,if the information is useful to them or not.If a journalist reconstructs quotes or information the audience should know these quotes were misconstructed. In conclusion, verification and seeking the truth defines journalism as a reliable source of news. Journalists should always be honest with the audience about what they do and do not know.