How to Read a News Story Without Raising Your Blood Pressure
Facebook and Google may have taken steps to restrict false or misleading content from infiltrating their network – but if you think that’s the end of the controversy, you are sadly mistaken.
For the average American, sorting out what you can trust online from that you should dismiss has emerged as a major and ongoing challenge. It isn’t just partisan political operatives that are trying to persuade you without letting the facts get in the way – corporate marketing departments are jumping in, so are some highly respected publishers at least to some degree.
Academics call the practice “sponsored content” or “native advertising.” These are articles that have the look and feel of traditional journalism but depending on the ethics of the publisher, may or may not carry a clear disclosure that the central theme of the piece is advertorial.
While its popularity may have jumped with the onset of digital media, the concept is not new – probably as old as the printing press itself. What is different today is how quickly such content can be absorbed into the mainstream and why it is so important to be on alert.
The average adult may believe that they can distinguish between real and sponsored content – but I know otherwise. I spent more than thirty years in the news business and I’m constantly shocked at the inability of otherwise well-informed and discriminating professionals to make the distinction. It is quite scary to think about what kinds of decisions may have been based on bad or misleading information – a vote, for instance.
Most sponsored content is clearly identified and appears before a reader because of some link with an article a reader may have already looked at. The New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly provide obvious notice, as do most social media sites like Facebook. That’s not the problem. The problem is when the lines are allowed to blur or someone slips a phony story into the news feed.
So how do you tell the difference?
The best way to arm yourself is to understand what features characterize good, mainstream reporting. Here’s 5 quick tips to help you decide if what you are reading is real journalism of something to be wary of:
- Does it have a byline? Seriously, if no one wants to put their name on an article, tread cautiously. Most of us in the news business have a healthy ego and usually want all the attention we can get, so it’s a bad sign when there’s an article that no one wants to claim.
- Is there a publication listed as the article’s host and do you recognize that host? You may not like the editorial page of your local newspaper, but they do employ a number of professionals that went to school and have worked in the industry a long time and for better or worse, they do try to be objective and truthful.
- Read past the headline. We are all guilty of this from time to time, taking in only the breathless alert and figuring there’s nothing more to know. Our world is complicated, you cannot communicate all the nuances of a serious event in 10 or 12 words – ask anyone that has a Twitter account.
- Are there anonymous sources? Attribution is the bedrock of good reporting – a document that anyone can read or a public official on the record is a good sign that the report can be trusted. Anytime you see a quote coming from some unnamed source, take care.
- Are both sides of an issue represented? Fairness is a quality missing from much of what gets read online, even if its someone bantering about a football game. Consider if a report is looking at a question from all sides and if relatively equal time and space is being provided. Opinions are not necessarily rooted in fact but plenty of talking heads would have you believe otherwise.
