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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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