LINE-BY-LINE FACT CHECKING Good journalism requires rigorous fact-checking standards, and I learned that firsthand while writing for the Detroit Free Press Investigative Team. Before publication, an editor would pull the writer aside and verify every single line of the piece, running through every assumption and conclusion made. I went through the same process with my ethics board complaint dismissal story, triple-checking transcribed quotes against recordings and cross-referencing notes with public records. When it comes to a story that features technical aspects like fiscal policy or scientific jargon, we usually have a two-fold system where said piece is read by both a resident student "expert" and an editor with little experience in the subject, which forces a thorough researched examination of each fact. INFORMATION EXPLOSION There is, always and constantly, so much news nowadays, and truth-seeking student journalists understand better than anyone to decipher it. As part of newspaper bootcamp at the beginning of the year, we analyze and annotate stories from reputable sources. Now, writers will often link to breaking local, national and international updates in our group chats. We then evaluate what fresh, untold angles we can offer to the conversation. |
POSTING, POST-TRUTH
Last spring, our school got caught up in a heated debate around abortion, with a lot of personal attacks and generalized assumptions. After one graphic started circulating widely on social media, we the newspaper staff brought it on ourselves to add clarity to the situation and very overtly emphasize our values. I made this fact-checking Instagram story: |