Reviewing Lesson 8

Lesson 8.8

Here's the summary of what we covered in Lesson 8:

  • Facts as well as falsehoods are consequential, and can lead to far-reaching consequences if spread incorrectly.

  • In the context of this course, Truth is defined as the best version of the truth as it is known right now proportional to the evidence.

    • The collection of this evidence is known as the Process of Verification.

  • ​Journalistic Truth is built on the idea that the truth is Provisional, and will change over time as the evidence changes.

The Journalist's Process of Verification should follow these rules:

    • Gather, assess, and weigh evidence & information

    • Place facts in the big picture to give context by which to form an accurate impression of what has happened.

    • Explain how they know what they know – and what they don’t know: which translates as transparency.

    • There are two main types of evidence collected by the journalist: Direct Evidence , which is captured from the source & Indirect Evidence, which comes second hand.

      • There is a heirarchy of direct evidence which lists videos and photographs as stronger evidence than documentary evidence, and an eyewitness account from a journalist is stronger than the eyewitness account from a citizen.

The process of verification can fail when:

      • Journalists rush to get the story first, jump the gun.

      • Facing deadline, some journalists get sloppy or provide incomplete reports

      • People (sources) give reporters incorrect information…or outright lie.

    • When considering the process of verification, the news consumer should always ask: "Did the Reporter Open the Freezer?"