Tips on how to become more skeptical
 
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Published: Tuesday, January 13, 2004
(Produced by Jonathan Krim, Washington Post, for the December 1998 API seminar, Compelling Storytelling: Writing and Editing for Readers. Krim worked at the San Jose Mercury News at the time.)
See the forest — are you looking at the totality of the story for completeness
and fairness?
Accuracy v/v the truth — they’re not the same thing.
Avoid zealot-like behavior — can you argue both sides of the story?
Answer your inner voice — it always speaks when you try to cut corners.
Watch the use of statistics — it’s easy to manipulate them to
make a point.
Get fresh eyes to look at a story.
Consider the previously unthinkable — be as innovative in being fair
as in getting the information itself.
Says Krim: “We have not yet explored the outer limits of making our
work fair.”
Other tips
- Get calculators to the reporters and copy editors
- Develop cheat sheets on how to figure out percentages and simple math
- Challenge your editors
- Move deadlines back on major stories
- Do thorough post-mortems
- Use third parties to question authenticity of information
- Develop a checklist to review complicated stories (match, use of quotes etc.)
- Watch for advocacy and zealot-like behavior and point of view (the “environmental
mafia”)
- Watch it when stats are at the basic of a story
- Be tough on the little mistakes; they may be a signal of larger ones to come
- Develop a good policy on use of sources
- Ditto on off-the-record conversations
- Empower desks to stop stories, make necessary changes
- Question reporters, grill them
- Admit mistakes
- Watch the wires for things you wouldn’t let by
- Develop a peer review system
- Develop accuracy check sheets and checklists
- Try doing more “How I Reported The Story” sessions
- Appoint a fact-checker
- Ease deadline pressures
- Develop and use expertise in specialty areas
- Do own reporting
- Pair up students on school papers
- Do role plays on complicated, touchy stories
- Have classmates defend in depth their stories and ideas before others
- Look for diversity in views and stories
- Check the background of sources
- Edit for what’s not in the story
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