Beware tricksters

Journalists must figure out what the real story is from clues, some of which conflict, that come from people and documents. They have to know when people are lying, which will be frequently, and they have to remember that if something sounds fishy or just doesn't seem right, it's probably not. Trust that instinct and hold off publishing until you do more reporting.

The frightening thing, however, is that if someone really wants to fool a reporter, they have a good chance at succeeding.

Two recent stories reminded me of why it is that I never gloated when a competitor got caught in a hoax. It could have been me, I knew.

Spirit magazine, the on-flight publication of Southwest Airlines, ran a funny-if-it-were-not-so-scary article about Greg Packer, a loony guy whose hobby is getting quoted in newspapers and other publications. To achieve this end he's stayed overnight in lines in order to buy the first ticket to events -- or the first IPhone sold. He also attends sports events and celebrity book signings and he hones in on reporters looking for "color," descriptions and quotes that bring a news event alive. He's perfected the colorful, pithy quote. The AP has warned its reporters about him and directed he not be included in future stories, but he's still become for some critics, the embodiment of shoddy journalism, as the magazine put it. The full story is at http://www.spiritmag.com/2008_03/features/ft4.php.

It's not only inexperienced or small-time journalists who get snookered. The Los Angeles Times just issued an embarrassing apology for a story that wrongly cast blame for the murder of Tupac Shakur on rap superstar Sean "Diddy" Combs. The mistake resulted from the paper's reliance on fake FBI files and responsible were several excellent investigative journalists. The newspaper wrote a detailed story examining what went wrong, but to paraphrase one lawyer quoted in that story: the newspaper had better just take out a checkbook.
Read more at http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-tupac27mar27,1,1401838.story

Advice for student journalits on Writing Good Ledes

This is from retired Cleveland newspaperman Richard Ellers:

"I've been a believer and follower of the idea that a good lead is the hook on which you hang your story, ever since my first Journalism class with Miss Alvina Trentleman in her high school journalism class.
Headlines help, but good leads suck the reader into the whole story.
I think I remember that Miss Trentleman actually drew a hook on the chalk board, alongside the list of five Ws and the H.
The sense of a good lead was so firm in my mind that when I had my first real reporting job, my City Editor used to harangue me when I'd have trouble starting a story.
"Write the story, you can add the lead later," he'd yell.
That never worked for me, and sometimes he'd hang over me as I tried.
That was in the dinosaur age, not computer, just real hard copy.
He would glower from his desk as I'd pull and toss a sheet from my typewriter.
I needed a good lead because because the lead points to where you are going.
I'm not talking breaking news here. Major news has to start with the facts, and that alone will keep the reader interested.
But soft news and features need more.
I had one state editor who complained that I wrote to many "but" leads, surprise twists, where I'd state that you'd expect so-and-so but this was such-and-such.
One other point about features and soft news: I tried not to start on a story with a fixed idea of what was happening.
Often, I'd find a story angle I hadn't expected, just because I took the time for a wide-ranging interview.
I did have trouble with one editor who always asked "what will your story say?" To which I might answer "I won't know until I get there."
To me, reporting is like digging for diamonds, you need to go through a lot of information to find the valuable nuggets.

Of possible interest to you!

Ozier Muhammad, a Pulitzer prize
winner and staff photographer for The New York Times, will speak and
present a slideshow of his work at Russell Sage College.

"Chronicling Events Locally and Globally Through a Lens - More Than
Three Decades of Photojournalism"

Wednesday, April 2, 2008
12:30 pm
Bush Memorial Hall
1st and Congress Streets, Troy, NY
Russell Sage College Campus

This presentation is part of the College Readership Program at Russell
Sage College, and is cosponsored by The New York Times. Complimentary
speakers are just one of many resources provided to colleges and
universities participating in The New York Times College Programs.
Please contact me if you'd like additional information on these programs
and resources.

Business Card for Julia Ziyatdinova

Here's the information on the card Dr. Ziyatdinova passed out today 3/19:

Julia Ziyatdinova

Kazan State Technological University
Associate Professor Ph.D. in Education
Head of the Department of Foreign Languages
in Professional Communication

Home tel. +7 843 236 68 70
Office tel. +7 843 231 89 78
Mobile tel. +79033442406
e-mail: uliziat@yandex.ru


(hmmm, a note of caution. Following the rules of accuracy checking from Bill Ristow I checked this email and the notice came back as undeliverable. It is exactly what is on her card. It may be that the server in Kazan is down temporarily, but there is a problem.-- Rosemary)

One other tip for you as you write your stories for publication -- The man who spoke at the horrible history class and to whom she referred in her talk with us is James Pasquill in the International Education department. Here's his contact:
JPasquill@uamail.albany.edu

Freedom of Information (FOI)

You need to know what this is and how to fight for it.

In a democracy, the idea is, the workings of government should be transparent. That means that when officials meet to make decisions, we all get to be there with them if we want. And when they make those decisions, pass laws, order investigations, keep track of their business, we get to see all the paperwork (or computer files) we want.  Open access to records has been the law of the land in the US since the Lyndon Johnson years. That's at the countrywide level. Each of the states has its own FOI or Sunshine law.

This is much more than many countries in the world, as befits a superpower democracy, like ours. But don't kid yourself. Getting records is not always easy or automatic as reading this might make you think.

PLEASE PICK UP ONE OF THE FREE COPIES OF THE ALBANY TIMES UNION ON CAMPUS TODAY (3/19)!!

In a couple of stories by a University of Missouri intern working at the paper, you'll see how things really work. In NY State, for example, death records are considered private. You can't get them. In other states where the records are open to inspection by the public and press important stories have been done on issues of public health, hospital efficiency and government performance. Reporters and scientific researchers here cannot do similar work.

The TU also found that most public agencies just kind of ignore requests for information despite the law.

A way to proscrastinate, fight world hunger and build your vocabulary

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Fact-checking and accuracy

In class Monday 3/17 we talked about the importance of completely accurate copy and ways to avoid mistakes.

Here is a method recommended by Seattle Times editor Bill Ristow and it's a good one. The trick is to actually take these steps -- even when you believe you've done a fine job already and you have to move on to do a lot of other things on your to-do list.

1. Print out your story in hard copy, preferably in a narrow column format. (Because it's harder for the eye to read all the way across a full page.) Bump up the type a bit whenever possible for the same reason.

2. Move away from your computer so you aren't tempted to tweak and massage when you are supposed to be editing. Change venue for a fresh look at your story. Make sure you are working in good light and using whatever eyewear is needed.

3. Use a bright highlighter pen to mark every verifiable fact in your story: names, dates, numbers, titles, locations, etc. Treat all facts big and small, as equal.

4. Proofread backwards -- that is from the bottom of the story to the top. You want to avoid reading it as a written piece because flow and sentence structure and rhythm will seduce and blind you. You'll see the big picture and miss words and punctuation. You can also read with a ruler over the line above so that all you can see is the line you are checking at that moment. This is a classic proof-reading technique.

5. Check every highlighted fact against your original notes and whenever possible with a second source. Call phone numbers and log into web addresses to verify them. Try not to rely on your memory --especially for things you THINK to be true. Pay special attention to numbers because it is so easy to transpose them. Read them aloud while you're facting checking them against source material and try to look at each number individually.