 Google Alerts http://www.google.

com/alerts

 Search: http://search.twitter.com/

 Setting up an RSS feed

 LocalTwitter Trending Topics

http://trendsmap.com/
 Don’t add anything that wasn’t there,
even for dramatic effect.

Never, EVER deceive your audience in

any way, shape, or form.

DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING. If your

mother says she loves you, check it out.
 Get more than one source . Three is even
better than two, and so on.
 Before he hands a piece in, Pulitzer
Prize-winner Tom French takes a printed
copy of his story and goes over it line-by-
line with a red pencil, putting a check
mark by each fact and assertion in the
story when he has double-checked it and
ensured that he has not introduced any
personal bias.
 Before publication, call your sources back
and check your facts with them.
 This doesn’t mean they can change their
quotes or try to talk you into portraying
them more positively. It’s about getting it
right.
 They will love you for it, even if you bug
them.
 Editors
will adjudicate stories line by line
with the reporter at their side, asking:
How do you know this?
Why should the reader believe this?
What is the assumption behind this
sentence?
 If doctors and surgeons do it, why can’t we?

 Surgeon and staff writer for the New Yorker,

Atul Gawande on the Daily Show:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-3-20
 Isthere enough background material to
understand the story completely?

 Are all the stakeholders in the story

identified and have they been contacted
and given a chance to talk?

 Does the story pick sides or make subtle

value judgments? Will some people like
this story more than they should?
Ex: Reporter Checklist
 
 Have you double-checked all names, titles and places
mentioned in your story? Have you tested from the
screen and CQ'd ALL phone numbers or Web
addresses?
 Are the quotes accurate and properly attributed?
Have you fully captured what each person meant?
 Is this story fair? Who or what might be missing from
the story? Have they been called and given a chance
to talk?
 Have you run spell check and checked the math?
 Have you fact-checked your information given to
graphics or photography? Have you seen the
completed graphic or photo?
 Is the information essential to the story?
 Is the information fact, not judgment?
 Is the source truly in a position to know? Is
he/she an eyewitness?
 What other indicators of reliability do you have
(multiple sources, independent corroboration,
experience with the source)?
 Is there a legitimate reason for anonymity?
 What descriptors can we use so readers can
decide what weight to assign to this source?
 The identity of an unnamed source must be
shared with and approved by a managing
editor, who must be confident the
information is accurate.
 Unnamed sources should be described as
precisely as possible.
 The number of sources and their standing
should not be exaggerated.
 Sources should know they may be
identified if their information proves to be
false or unfounded.
 Outermost circle: Secondary source documents,
e.g. articles in other news sources
 Next circle: Primary documents e.g. police
reports, trial documents, etc.
 Next circle: Real people, not documents.
Witnesses, people with knowledge of the topic
 Bullseye: People CLOSEST to the case, e.g. the
suspects, the police involved, the victim
 Discrepancies?
 Human beings make mistakes all the time, or
may have a strong motive to either lie or hide
information
 For example, police are under pressure to find
the killer, reassure the public the streets are
safe, to cut a deal with a suspect, to go for the
guy who already has a record, and to get the
press off its back.

 Don’t take ANYBODY’S WORD FOR IT.

 You speak for the people
 It is better to pester somebody than get it
wrong
 Public officials, INCLUDING UNIVERSITY
OFFICIALS, GET PAID BY YOU! IT IS THEIR JOB
TO ANSWER THE PUBLIC’S QUESTIONS.
 Be Bold. Be Fearless. Kick A@@ and Take
Names.