Journalism is the practice of researching,  

verifying, and presenting 
information to the public.

But not all journalism is created equally. Reports 
can range from short bulletins written quickly,  

to substantial investigations that take 
a lot of time and effort to produce.  

Some reporting that looks like journalism may 
not have the same standards of research and rigor  

as reports produced by professional organizations.  

To confuse matters more false and misleading 
information online can also look like journalism.

With so many different sources available 
to us, it is important to determine  

which information is reliable and which 
is not. One key way to do this is to seek  

out information from organizations that 
operate according to a set of standards.  

Professional news organizations won't always get 
it right but a story is more likely to be reliable  

if it is produced in a process that involves 
a commitment to accuracy. You can evaluate the  

quality of a journalistic report by looking for 
some of the standards that define journalism.

Accuracy
Does the news organization  

have a reputation for professionalism? Do 
they have a policy for correcting mistakes?

Research
How many people  

are interviewed or quoted in the story. What 
supporting research or statistics are included?

Sourcing 

Are the people quoted experts or otherwise 
qualified to speak about the issue?

Context 

Does the story include background information 
to help you understand the key themes better?

Fairness 

Are people and issues described 
using neutral language?

Not all journalism will meet the same standards. 
Becoming familiar with professional news  

organizations and the standards that define 
journalism can help us determine what to trust