Digging deeper into The New York Times’ fact-checking faux pas
Once in a while the cultural fault lines in American journalism come into unexpectedly sharp relief. Jon Stewart's now-legendary star turn on "Crossfire" was one of those moments; the uproar over NPR's refusal (along with most major news outlets) to call waterboarding torture was another. The Times may have added another clash to this canon...
Attack of the Attack Ads: Citizens United and the 2012 Elections
In 2012, two tidal waves will reconfigure the American electoral system and the news media that cover it. A tsunami made of money will buoy up the structure of entrenched political power, while a huge wave of personal technology will disru...
Truth-O-Meter, franchised: PolitiFact places its bets on expanding to states
Since it launched in 2007, PolitiFact has generally been seen as a keep-them-honest tool for politicos on the national level: the president, Congress, and the talking heads who circle both. But PolitiFact’s future may actually exist on the state level — as something of a journalistic franchise that supports local newspapers while expanding PolitiFact’s coverage...
NewsTrust dives into the fact-check business with expanded Truthsquad
Just in time for the 2012 elections, the cottage industry of media fact-checking is ramping up. That latest addition is Truthsquad, which began last year as a pilot project of NewsTrust. TruthSquad will differentiate itself from its peers by bringing in the crowd, combining the talents of professional journalists with the eagerness (if not competitiveness)...
Sarah Palin’s 2009 “death panel” claims: How the media handled them, and why that matters
It’s been almost two years now since Sarah Palin published to Facebook a post about “death panels.” In a study to be presented this week at the 61st Annual International Communications Association Conference, we analyzed over 700 stories placed in the top 50 newspapers around the country to consider how the media reacted to her...
Fact-Check or Die! Why News Media Survival Depends On Checking The Facts
Traditionally, trust in the news media was established through good work - work that was also right. But distrust in the press grows when traditional journalistic values are forgotten. Right now, people mistrust the press a whole lot - but fact-checking might be the way to win that trust back.
