0:00:13.520,0:00:15.680 Journalism is the practice of researching, 0:00:15.680,0:00:18.320 verifying, and presenting[br]information to the public. 0:00:19.920,0:00:24.960 But not all journalism is created equally. Reports[br]can range from short bulletins written quickly, 0:00:25.840,0:00:29.840 to substantial investigations that take[br]a lot of time and effort to produce. 0:00:30.800,0:00:34.880 Some reporting that looks like journalism may[br]not have the same standards of research and rigor 0:00:34.880,0:00:37.280 as reports produced by professional organizations. 0:00:38.240,0:00:42.960 To confuse matters more false and misleading[br]information online can also look like journalism. 0:00:43.760,0:00:47.600 With so many different sources available[br]to us, it is important to determine 0:00:47.600,0:00:52.720 which information is reliable and which[br]is not. One key way to do this is to seek 0:00:52.720,0:00:58.000 out information from organizations that[br]operate according to a set of standards. 0:00:58.000,0:01:02.960 Professional news organizations won't always get[br]it right but a story is more likely to be reliable 0:01:02.960,0:01:08.320 if it is produced in a process that involves[br]a commitment to accuracy. You can evaluate the 0:01:08.320,0:01:12.640 quality of a journalistic report by looking for[br]some of the standards that define journalism. 0:01:15.200,0:01:17.600 Accuracy[br]Does the news organization 0:01:17.600,0:01:21.760 have a reputation for professionalism? Do[br]they have a policy for correcting mistakes? 0:01:22.960,0:01:24.960 Research[br]How many people 0:01:24.960,0:01:30.080 are interviewed or quoted in the story. What[br]supporting research or statistics are included? 0:01:31.280,0:01:31.840 Sourcing 0:01:32.400,0:01:36.160 Are the people quoted experts or otherwise[br]qualified to speak about the issue? 0:01:38.640,0:01:39.600 Context 0:01:39.600,0:01:43.280 Does the story include background information[br]to help you understand the key themes better? 0:01:45.040,0:01:46.000 Fairness 0:01:46.000,0:01:48.720 Are people and issues described[br]using neutral language? 0:01:50.400,0:01:54.880 Not all journalism will meet the same standards.[br]Becoming familiar with professional news 0:01:54.880,0:02:07.840 organizations and the standards that define[br]journalism can help us determine what to trust