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[Journalism Stantards]
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.
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[With the support of Canada]
[Produced by SPACE HEART]