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Understanding News Publications: "Real News" vs. "Fake News"

Real News: An Introduction

Credible news publications do the following:

  • Pay professional journalists* to write news reports and news analysis.
  • Pay professional journalists* to edit news articles for accuracy (and other components of quality).
  • Include the name of the journalist who wrote the news article in the article byline.
  • Adhere to a professional Code of Ethics that clarifies standards for news reporting.
  • Publish corrections when a news article is later found to contain misinformation.  Credible news publications do make mistakes, but they are transparent about reporting errors.

*Professional journalists have qualifications/credentials that can be verified with minimal effort.  Qualifications/credentials include: an undergraduate degree in communications (or a related field), experience working as a journalist for a credible publication, and journalism awards (such as the Pulitzer Prize).  Sometimes, a professional journalist will have an advanced degree related to the subject area they are reporting on (e.g. an advanced degree in Biology for a Science Reporter).

Real News & Links

  • News publications are different from scholarly journals: you will almost never see a formal citation in a news publication, regardless of how reputable the publication is.
     
  • However, you may see links within news articles when looking at the online version of a news publication (or when looking at a news publication that is entirely online).
    • Links that you find within news articles should take you to sources that are relevant to the news story being reported.
      • In a news article that discusses the results of a recently released scientific study, you may see a link to a scholarly article.  
      • In a news article that discusses the shifting public positions of a political figure, you may see a link to a political figure's social media posting (e.g. a Tweet).  
         
  • The absence of links in a news article does not necessarily diminish its credibility.  Much of the news reporting about politics, for example, relies on communications between journalists and individuals.  

(Basically) the Same Story - Using Multiple Publications to Verify Real News

  • "Hard news," which focuses on conveying the basic facts and essential context of a current event, can often be verified in other credible news outlets.
  • "Hard news" provides minimal context and minimal analysis.  

Types of News Publications

  • National Newspapers (e.g. New York Times)

  • Regional Newspapers (e.g. Richmond Times Dispatch)

  • News & Opinion Magazines 

    • Provide in-depth, analytical, contextualized articles that address current events and broad social/cultural issues.

    • The articles in news and opinion magazines frequently address multiple viewpoints on a topic, but they are not the equivalent of objective "hard news" reporting. 

      • Examples of News Magazines: Time, Newsweek

      • Examples of Opinion Magazines: Atlantic, Harper's, New Republic, National Review