Summing Up Lesson 7

Here's the summary of what we covered in Lesson 7:

  • 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 Verification Process. 
  • ​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?"