This presentation teaches journalism students how to be accurate by verifying information and avoiding hoaxes. It also teaches fairness, including avoiding confirmation bias. It goes with Chapter 12 of The Ethical Journalist by Gene Foreman. Professor Linda Austin created it for her JNL-2105 journalism ethics students at the National Management College in Yangon, Myanmar.

1. CHAPTER 12:
GETTING THE STORY
RIGHT AND BEING FAIR
Be accurate
 Verify
 Avoid hoaxes
Be fair
 Don’t fall in love with your story

2. DEFINITIONS
Credibility
Fact
Opinion
Accuracy
Truth
Context
Background
Fairness
Balance
Bias
Objectivity
BE ACCURATE BE FAIR

3. Definitions: Credibility
•Deserving of being trusted and believed
Definitions

4. Definitions: Fact
•A piece of information that has
been verified or is known to be true.
Examples:
• U Thein Sein is the
president of Myanmar.
• Myanmar won the silver
medal in football at the
2015 Southeast Asian
Games.
• The population of
Myanmar was 51.5
million, according to
the country’s 2014
census.
ByChathamHouse
Definitions

5. Definitions: Opinion
• Go beyond what is known to assert a
belief, conclusion or prejudice.
Examples:
• U Thein Sein is a good
president of Myanmar.
• Myanmar should have won
the gold medal in the
Southeast Asian Games.
• The population of Myanmar
was 51.5 million, according
to the country’s 2014
census, and is too small.
ByChathamHouse
Definitions

6. “JUST
the
FACTS,
ma’am” Police Sgt. Joe
Friday from the 1950s
“Dragnet” TV show in
the United States.
Byjaydex
Definitions

7. Fact or opinion?
The defendant’s confession
came at the end of the
depositions in the trial for the
2008 Mumbai attacks, which
firmly established his
participation in terror activity
beyond any doubt.
The defendant’s confession
came at the end of the
depositions in the trial for the
2008 Mumbai attacks, in which
135 witnesses identified him as
one of the gunmen who fired on
commuters at the Mumbai
station.
Definitions

8. Fact or opinion?
The defendant’s confession
came at the end of the
depositions in the trial for the
2008 Mumbai attacks, which
firmly established his
participation in terror activity
beyond any doubt.
The defendant’s confession
came at the end of the
depositions in the trial for the
2008 Mumbai attacks, in which
135 witnesses identified him as
one of the gunmen who fired on
commuters at the Mumbai
station.
Definitions

9. Fact or opinion?
a. Mitt Romney’s futile election
campaign came to a disappointing
end last night as the exhausted
candidate conceded defeat before
200 loyal supporters.
b. Mitt Romney’s presidential
election campaign came to an end
last night as the Republican
candidate conceded defeat before
200 cheering supporters.
By davelawrence8
Definitions

10. Fact or opinion?
a. Mitt Romney’s futile election
campaign came to a disappointing
end last night as the exhausted
candidate conceded defeat before
200 loyal supporters.
b. Mitt Romney’s presidential
election campaign came to an end
last night as the Republican
candidate conceded defeat before
200 cheering supporters.
By davelawrence8
Definitions

11. Fact or opinion?
a. Mitt Romney’s futile election
campaign came to a disappointing
end last night as the exhausted
candidate conceded defeat before
200 loyal supporters.
b. Mitt Romney’s presidential
election campaign came to an end
last night as the Republican
candidate conceded defeat before
200 cheering supporters.
By davelawrence8
Definitions

12. Definitions: Accuracy
•Being correct, true and precise.
• Which is more precise?
a. The woman is very tall.
OR
b. The woman is 183
centimeters tall.
ByPetterDuvander
Definitions

13. Definitions: Truth
•Verifiable facts placed in a context and
with background to aid understanding
ByDaveblog
Definitions

14. Definitions: context and background
Both help readers better understand the
event. Which is context? Background?
A. Information in a story that tells readers
the current general situation related to
the event being reported in the story.
B. Information in a story that tells readers
what happened in the past, related to
the event being reported in the story.
Definitions

15. Definitions: context and background
Find both: The prime minister’s statement came
amid a tense stand-off between Cambodian and
Thai troops near the 11th-century Preah Vihear
temple, which last month erupted into a clash
that raised concerns of a border war.
ByWilliamBrehm
Definitions

16. Definitions: context and background
Context? The prime minister’s statement came
amid a tense stand-off between Cambodian and
Thai troops near the 11th-century Preah Vihear
temple, which last month erupted into a clash
that raised concerns of a border war.
ByWilliamBrehm
Definitions

17. Definitions: context and background
Context? The prime minister’s statement came
amid a tense stand-off between Cambodian and
Thai troops near the 11th-century Preah Vihear
temple, which last month erupted into a clash
that raised concerns of a border war.
ByWilliamBrehm
Definitions

18. Definitions: context and background
Background? The prime minister’s statement
came amid a tense stand-off between
Cambodian and Thai troops near the 11th-century
Preah Vihear temple, which last month erupted
into a clash that raised concerns of a border war.
ByWilliamBrehm
Definitions

19. Definitions: context and background
Background? The prime minister’s statement
came amid a tense stand-off between
Cambodian and Thai troops near the 11th-century
Preah Vihear temple, which last month erupted
into a clash that raised concerns of a border war.
ByWilliamBrehm
Definitions

20. SPJ CODE: Seek truth and report it.
• Truth starts with getting the facts verified and
accurate.
• Goes beyond transcribing what someone in
authority has to say. BeYourOwnBoss
Boss
Stenographer
Definitions

21. ByThomasAnderson
“You are not
a stenographer.”
“Your job is
to get the
answers.”
“Your job is
to get the
truth.”
Definitions

22. 1950s: U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy
• Journalists reported his undocumented charges
of Communists in U.S. government.
• Great damage done to his targets
• ASK: HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?
ByBostonPublicLibrary
Definitions

23. BE ACCURATE
Verify
Avoid hoaxes

24. 10 most common errors
1. Misquotation
2. Numbers wrong
3. Misspelling
4. Job title wrong
5. Name wrong
6. Location wrong
7. Time wrong
8. Date wrong
9. Address wrong
10. Age wrong
Factual newspaper errors ranked in order of frequency, according to research at the University of
Oregon. From Inside Reporting, by Tim Harrower
Accuracy

25. NEVER
ASSUME
Accuracy

26. What does
ASSUME
spell?
Accuracy

27. ASS
U
ME
Byhorslips5
Accuracy

28. Accuracy checklist
Accuracy

29. Why use a checklist?
“Miracle on the Hudson” emergency
landing of US Airways #1549 in 2009
in NYC. All 155 on board survived.
ByNewYorkDistrict,U.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers

30. Why use a checklist?
ByNewYorkDistrict,U.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers
Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger
ByIngridTaylar
• First officer was working
through an engine-restart
checklist and then a water-
landing checklist
• The use of a surgical-safety
checklist helped reduce
inpatient deaths following
operations by 40 percent.

31. Accuracy checklist
Accuracy

32. Definitions: Verification
The steps a reporter takes to
make sure that the information a
source gives to him or her is true.
This may involve:
(1) observation,
(2) talking to other sources,
(3) looking at documents.
Verification

33. ASK:
HOW
DO YOU
KNOW THAT?
Verification

34. If your mother says she loves
you,…
ByDinJimenez
Verification

35. CHECK
IT
OUT!
Verification
By Din Jim

36. Verification
http://ethics.npr.org/category/memos-from-memmott/

37. Verification
http://ethics.npr.org/category/memos-from-memmott/

38. Verification
May 27, 2015

39. Verification
“Senior monk U Thuta Nanda, a South
Okkalapa resident, said he was motivated to
join Wednesday’s protest by his concerns that
the Muslim population of Burma would
increase dramatically….He claimed that
Burma’s Muslim minority was attempting to
join the governing Union Solidarity and
Development Party (USDP) and the opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD)….”
“’We found that they have 25% of the power in
both political parties already,’ the monk said.”

40. ASK:
HOW
DO YOU
KNOW THAT?
Verification

41. Verification

42. Verification
“According to the Pew Research Center, 3.8
percent of the total population of Burma
was Muslim, a figure that is expected to
remain static through at least 2030.”
“A phone call to NLD lawmaker Min Thu
confirmed that his party had no Muslim MPs
sitting in the Union Parliament. A survey of
the Parliamentary Handbook, published by
Myanmar Consolidated Media, found that of
the USDP’s 336 MPs in the Union
Parliament, a total of three belonged to the
Muslim faith.”

43. GET IT
FIRST,
BUT GET IT
RIGHT.
Verification

44. Verification
In 2011, 18 shot, including
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords; six died

45. NPR reports:
Congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords dead
The story was
wrong!
Verification

46. Others reported the error
“A lie gets halfway around
the world before the truth
has a chance to get its pants
on.”
Verification
– Winston Churchill,
prime minister of Great Britain

47. How did NPR
get it wrong?
•2 sources, but both anonymous
• Local sheriff’s office
• Congressional office
•Neither source had first-hand
knowledge
•Did not follow policy requiring a
top editor’s approval for the
anonymous sources
Verification

48. Lessons
•In reporting a death, the best sources
are the hospital, funeral home or
family – those with first-hand
knowledge.
•Ask sources: how do you know that?
•Follow policy requiring a top editor’s
approval for anonymous sources
•Don’t report as truth just because
others are
Verification

49. Impact of the mistake
•Caused
enormous
grief to her
family and
friends
•Damaged
NPR’s
credibility
Verification

50. Definitions: hoax
A deliberate effort to
make you believe
that something false
is true

51. EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON
FACEBOOK IS TRUE.
TRUE OR FALSE?
Verification

52. Verify to avoid hoaxes
Verification
http://snopes.com/

53. Verify to avoid hoaxes
Verification
Urban legend: a story about an
unusual event that many believe is true
but that is not true

54. Verify to avoid hoaxes
Verification
Urban legend: a story about an
unusual event that many believe is true
but that is not true

55. Verification

56. DO YOU:
a. Put a story and photo up on your
news outlet’s website: “Kentucky Fried
Rat found at KFC”
b.Try to verify the story.
Verification

57. ASK:
HOW
DO YOU
KNOW THAT?
Verification

58. HOW WOULD YOU VERIFY THE STORY?
a. Contact the person who posted it.
b. Ask to take the “rat” in for lab testing.
c. Contact the restaurant inspectors.
d. Contact KFC for comment.
e. All of the above.
Verification

59. Verification

60. Verification

61. Verification
Dec. 14, 2014
HOW WOULD YOU VERIFY THE STORY?

62. ASK:
HOW
DO I
KNOW THAT?
Verification

63. Verification
Dec. 14, 2014
ASK FOR DOCUMENTS AND VERIFY.

64. Verification
Dec. 14, 2014
HOW WOULD YOU VERIFY THEM?

65. Verification

66. Verification
June 19, 2015

67. fails to verify
Verification
June 30, 2015
What should The New York Times have done?

68. Verification

69. Verification
• Fabrication
 Making things up and passing them
off as true.

70. REVIEW: Definition of
verification
The steps a reporter takes to make sure
that the information a source gives to
him or her is true. This may involve:
(1) observation,
(2) talking to other sources,
(3) looking at documents.
 What should the reporter have asked?
Verification

71. ASK:
HOW
DO YOU
KNOW THAT?
Verification

72. Can I
SEE the
SOURCE of
your info?
Verification

73. Verification
Source Reporter

74. SITES TO TRACK PHOTOS
https://images.google.com/
http://tineye.com/
Verification

75. SITES TO TRACK PHOTOS
Verification

76. SITES TO TRACK PHOTOS
Verification

78. SITES TO TRACK PHOTOS
Verification

79. http://verificationhandbook.com/

80. BE FAIR
Including: Don’t fall in love with
your story.

81. Definitions: Fairness
•Treating all people and subjects in
an equal, even-handed and
reasonable way.
ByThePizzaReview
Definitions

82. Definitions: Balance
•Reporting all sides of a subject
without favoring one over another
ByvaXzine
Definitions

83. Balance and fairness
• Reporters interview sources from all sides.
• Balanced stories do not favor one side.
• Fair stories treat all sides in an equal, even-
handed and reasonable way.
• When you can’t get a response from a
particular side, you include HIGH in the story
how you tried to reach them.
• “U Kyaw Soe did not immediately return a phone
message requesting comment.”
Definitions

84. Definitions: Bias
•A way of looking at the world that
values one group, person or
philosophy over another.
ByHonestReporting
Definitions

85. Definitions: Objectivity
•Reporting on a subject fairly
without being influenced by
personal beliefs, feelings or biases.
•The reporter keeps his or her own
opinions and feelings out of the
story as much as possible and
reports only the facts.
Definitions

86. http://bit.ly/1ITiuLl
http://bit.ly/1ed023t
Definitions

87. TWO CASE STUDIES
1. What did Rolling Stone do wrong in “A
Rape on Campus”?
2. What did the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
do wrong in the case of security guard
Richard Jewell?

88. By NIAID

89. Don’t fall in love with your idea
By Esparta Palma

90. Definitions: Confirmation Bias
Tendency to search for or interpret information
in a way that confirms one's ideas
By woodleywonderworks
Definitions

91. Definitions: Fraternity
An organization of male students at a
college who often live together in a house
Definitions

92. By hobvias sudoneighm
Definitions: Derogatory
Negative or
unflattering

93. November 2014
“The article quoted Jackie as
saying that the attack by seven
men was orchestrated by a
fraternity member who worked
with her at the school’s aquatic
center.
“She also said she immediately
told three friends about the
attack, but she said they were
generally unsupportive, and that at
least two encouraged her to keep
quiet to protect their social
standing.”
– The Associated Press

94. November 2014
“The article quoted Jackie as
saying that the attack by seven
men was orchestrated by a
fraternity member who worked
with her at the school’s aquatic
center.
“She also said she immediately
told three friends about the
attack, but she said they were
generally unsupportive, and that at
least two encouraged her to keep
quiet to protect their social
standing.”
– The Associated Press

95. Magazine requests report
By Mathew Ingram
Dean Steve Coll

96. •Published a one-source story
•Used pseudonyms (fake names) to
avoid addressing reporting gaps
•Did not seek Jackie’s friends to
allow them to respond to her
derogatory comments about them
•Did not try hard enough to find the
frat member accused of organizing
the attack
•Failed to give the fraternity adequate
information to respond
What Rolling Stone Did Wrong

97. “If the fraternity had had more
information, it might have been able
to explain earlier that it did not hold
a social function the night of the
attack and that none of its members
worked at the aquatic center, the
report noted.”
– The Associated Press
What Rolling Stone Did Wrong

98. November 2014

99. November 2014

100. Wrongly accused: Richard Jewell
Security guard at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996
July 27, 1996: Jewell finds
suspicious backpack in
Centennial Olympic Park and
clears area. Bomb explodes,
killing one and injuring 111.
July 30, 1996: Atlanta Journal-
Constitution reports Jewell is
“the focus of the federal
investigation.”
October 1996: U.S. attorney says
Jewell is not a target of the
federal investigation.
2005: Eric Rudolph pleads guilty.
Case Study

101. Wrongly accused: Richard Jewell
Security guard at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996
2000s: Jewell settles
libel lawsuits against
several media
outlets for
undisclosed sums.
Aug. 29, 2007: Jewell
dies at 44.
December 2007: Last
lawsuit, against the
Atlanta Journal-
Constitution, is
dismissed.
Case Study

102. Wrongly accused: Richard Jewell
Security guard at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996
DISCUSS:
1. Should Richard
Jewell have been
named, given that he
was not charged?
Use the 10-question
template on page
113.
2. If the answer to
Question 1 is yes, is
the resulting story
accurate and fair?
See pages 184-185.
Case Study

103. SPJ Code: Minimize harm
Consider the implications
of identifying criminal
suspects before they face
legal charges.
Case Study

104. What’s wrong with the story?
• Says Jewell is “the focus” of the investigation even
though journalists knew agents were looking at other
possible suspects.
• No attribution
• Does not say prominently that (a) Jewell has not been
charged and (b) investigators have not revealed any
physical evidence linking him to the crime.
• Does not include a comment from Jewell or his
attorney
• Factual error: says Jewell “had approached
newspapers…seeking publicity”
• Imprecise measurement that the warning call was made
on a phone “a few minutes’ walk from the park.”
Case Study

105. 1. Credibility
2. Fact
3. Opinion
4. Truth
5. Bias
6. Objectivity
7. Balance
8. Fairness
9. Accuracy
a. Reporting on all sides of a subject without
favoring one over another
b. Reporting on a subject fairly without being
influenced by personal beliefs, feelings or
biases
c. A piece of info that has been verified or is
known to be true
d. Being correct, true and precise
e. Deserving of being trusted and believed
f. Going beyond what is known to assert a
belief, conclusion or prejudice
g. Verifiable facts
h. A way of looking at the world that values
one person, group or philosophy over
another
i. Treating all people and subjects in an
equal, even-handed and reasonable way.
REVIEW: Definitions

106. 1. Accuracy
2. Verification
3. Objectivity
4. Attribution
5. Balance
6. Fairness
7. Clarity
8. Completeness
a. The way in which the reporter
describes the source of a quote or
information.
b. Reporting on all sides of a subject
without favoring one over another
c. Written clearly so that readers can
easily understand a story
d. Reporting on a subject fairly without
being influenced by personal beliefs,
feelings or biases
e. The steps a reporter takes to make
sure that the information a source
gives to him or her is true.
f. Being correct, true and precise
g. Answers all of a reasonable reader’s
questions.
h. Treating all people and subjects in an
equal, even-handed and reasonable
way.
REVIEW: Basic requirements for stories