Hope For Journalism
There has been a lot of talk about podcasting and facts over the last week. Usually I just observe these issues and go about my business. However something interesting happened today. For the first time, after having been fortunate enough to have been involved in 50+ podcasting related articles and news pieces, I had a reporter contact me specifically to verify a fact regarding a statement someone had made about a podcast I produced. That has never happened before. I have been told fact checkers would call to verify stuff on a number of occasions - but it has never happened. Today it did. Looks like there is still hope for journalism.
Hi, Michael.
Yep, that’s the “dirty little secret” of journalism — formal independent fact-checking rarely occurs. In the 100+ interviews I’ve given over the years, I’ve received follow-up calls from fact checkers exactly three times.
On the other hand, when I’m doing journalism I know that my own stories are generally not independently fact-checked. However, I do generally make efforts to independently verify facts, statistics, etc. given to me by sources if my source is not the primary source.
The practice of journalism is by no means pure. Independent fact-checking takes time and costs money, and is generally treated as a luxury. It’s done scrupulously only in the most legally sensitive stories.
- Amy Gahran
Editor, Contentious