WEBVTT

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Journalism is the practice of researching,  

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verifying, and presenting 
information to the public.

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

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

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

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as reports produced by professional organizations.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Accuracy
Does the news organization  

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

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Research
How many people  

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

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Sourcing 

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

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Context 

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

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Fairness 

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Are people and issues described 
using neutral language?

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

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