What is Responsible Reporting?
So many media sources proport to be "unbiased" and "truth-based", but a 2024 Gallup Poll found that 36% of American Adults have no trust at all in the media. What is good criteria to consider when evaluating the reliability and accuracy of a news source? Consider the following:
- Does the headline match the story?: If the headline say something like "tensions errupt" or "protestors and police crash" you might assume that there was a veyr violent protest. But if you continue to read that only one person was arrested and no one was injured that would show how the headline has been sensationalized. Reporters want your clicks and attention to make money, but are they prioritizing it over factual information?
- Is the information precise? Many could mean 10 or it could mean 100. And that makes a difference. Getting exact numbers like time spent, people in attendance, dollars collected, etc. shows diligent and accurate reporting.
- Is there context? People do not live in bubbles - there is almost always a cause for a reaction to occur. What leads people to do what they do? Are their actions justified or not? A smart reporter will cover the full background and context of an event.
- Do they get the full story? Modern rhetoric is pushing back on the idea that there's an equal side to both stories. This isn't true if one side is not being factual. Nor is the weight of arguements on each side equal in every circumstance. For example a police man arresting a protestor who is being violent would be seen as many as a just response. But if the protestor's "violence" was just saying something rude to the copy, that doesn't carry the justification for the arrest.
Example of a 2010 BBC advertising campaign demonstrating how getting proper perspective can effect the full understanding of a story.