Reliable Sources, Accessible Sources, Part I
Posted on Monday, January 30, 2017 at 10:28 PM
Using sound editorial judgment to identify credible sources.
By
William Dunkerley
It's time to reexamine how we deal with the
issue of sources. They are an essential part of most editorial stories.
Sources
can provide the nuggets of information on which to base an article, they
can offer a perspective that allows readers to see a topic in a
comprehensive context, and they can affirm or question the validity of
claims that arise regarding areas of interest.
In this age of
social media, it's worth taking a fresh look at the nature of sources
and their accessibility to us.
Back to Fundamentals
Beginning
university students are schooled on the matter of sources and what
constitutes a reliable source. The University of Oklahoma's School of
Library and Information Studies has created a comprehensive online
resource (http://bit.ly/2kOkevj) to help students and instructors. It's really worth a look
as a refresher course.
The site aims to help users:
--Define
what credibility means and why it's important to use credible sources
--Find
credible sources
--Recognize and identify what makes a source
credible
--Evaluate a source for its credibility
In
addressing credibility it says, "Credibility is defined as 'the quality
or power of inspiring belief.' Credible sources, therefore, must be
reliable sources that provide information that one can believe to be
true."
That's a good starting point, but it doesn't give us
the whole picture in today's milieu. For me, "believability" is not the
only test. Factuality is important too.
Factuality
I've
done a number of studies of topical themes popularly portrayed in
publication. Upon close examination it's been impossible in multiple
cases to find a factual basis. Nonetheless, those popular media
portrayals have become established beliefs among audiences.
Circumstances
like that present editors with quite a challenge. Something based in
fact may not be believable as a result of prevalent misunderstandings.
Truth and fact may therefore appear counterintuitive to the reader. That
makes it necessary to consider how much of the truth your audience can
handle. You may have to first create a readiness in readers to redefine
their beliefs.
Judgment
The foregoing underlines
the importance of ethical editorial judgment.
Social media
presents its own set of challenges here. I've seen cases where bloggers
have uncovered new information or presented unique analyses that have
escaped attention from recognized experts or officials. But will
information from a blog be believed by your audience? You may have to
dig up supportive references to give your readers confidence in the
blogged material.
Another issue is the reliability over time of
any particular blogger. You may justify to readers material from a
particular blog post only to see that blogger later go off on a tangent
with unsupported nonsense. Using a blog as a source requires great
vigilance.
Vigilance is likewise needed for Twitter feeds.
Unsupported allegations can arise quickly and be received with little
scrutiny by users reading the tweets.
One example involves
presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. After his primary loss to Hillary
Clinton, many of his supporters were disappointed that Sanders did not
continue asserting his opposition to key ideas of Clinton's. To
rationalize his silence an explanation erupted on Sanders-friendly
twitter hashtags: that he had been silenced after receiving death
threats targeting his wife. No factual substantiation ever appeared as
far as I could tell.
A Formula for Good Judgment?
Indeed,
is there a useful formula for making editorial judgments?
Wikipedia
has codified the process of what constitutes a credible source. The
purpose is to allow people without expertise (anyone can edit a
Wikipedia entry) to exercise editorial judgment. But too often this
approach results in formulaic judgments being made by people who are
working in the blind. There's no substitute for experienced,
professional editorial judgment.
When making editorial judgments
about sources, there are some important principles to consider. Perhaps
the foremost is that we owe our primary allegiance to our audiences.
According
to ASBPE, "In all ways, editorial coverage must be based solely on
reader needs in the view of the editors.
"A publication's
constant attention [must be given to] reader needs and on a publicly
expressed dedication to such journalistic principles as:
--accuracy
--fairness
--full
attribution to sources
--clear separation of news from analysis,
news and analysis from opinion, and of editorial from advertising
content."
In Part II we'll move into issues of theory versus
practice in the utilization of sources, and we'll discuss the matter of
access to useful sources.
William Dunkerley is principal of
William Dunkerley Publishing Consultants, www.publishinghelp.com.
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