For journalists, there’s one thing that might be worse than getting a fact wrong: getting the fact-checking wrong. What’s the best way to infuse solid fact-checking into the journalistic process — whether it’s writing stories, building charts, making videos, or creating any element for news consumers?
The American Press Institute has embarked on a long-term fact-checking program, with financial support from The Democracy Fund, the Rita Allen Fund, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to examine the state of fact-checking in media organizations, study best practices, and provide training. Follow us for the latest news from the fact-checking front, especially as we approach the 2016 elections.
In addition, six scholars from around the U.S. and the U.K. have conducted research designed to examine and improve the practice of fact-checking. Their topics include the impact of fact-checking on political rhetoric, the effectiveness of rating systems like the Washington Post’s “Pinnochios,” readers’ changing perceptions of fact-checking, and a survey of journalists on the prevalence of fact-checking.
Regular posts at www.americanprstg.wpenginepowered.com will feature:
- Q&A interviews with those who study and practice fact-checking;
- the latest from our scholars’ research projects and other studies in fact-checking;
- tell you how journalists tracked down and verified facts in “How I got that fact;”
- more news and tips from the fact-checking universe.
Have questions? Topics you’d like to see tackled? A good fact-checked story of your own? Contact API’s senior research manager Jane Elizabeth, jane.elizabeth@pressinstitute.org, 571-366-1116, @JaneEliz. You can also follow our daily curated collection of fact-checking stories from around the country at trove.com.
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The press will be much more effective in serving people and strengthening democracy if it learns from what researchers are learning. Among the examples and takeaways, you will find that news leaders and non-news experts alike value the opportunity to think differently about the challenges in front of them, about how local news can change and how research can ask different questions.
We'll share some of the resources, tools and lessons learned from our training sessions and research help desk. We hope you can use these as you plan your continuing accountability coverage and start thinking about the next election on the horizon.
When community members are no longer voters, their needs become diffuse once again and there is no clear, focusing mandate. So many newsrooms slip back into the usual: politics coverage driven by politicians and press releases. How do we avoid that backslide?
How can we avoid that backslide this time?
