Via center for news literacy

1. Week 8
Truth & Verification:
Journalism’s First Obligation

2. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Newsweek’s Quran Report Leads to 17 Deaths,
then is retracted because of faulty Information

3. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Consequences of a failure to verify
Newsweek’s Quran Reports Leads to 17 Deaths

4. Four Big Questions today:
1) What IS truth?
2) How does the verification process
work?
3) Why does it break down?
4) What kinds of evidence should a
news consumer look for?

5. Truth and Verification
Journalism’s First Obligation
Is to the Truth

6. What Is Truth?
What Do Journalists Mean By ‘Truth’?

7. What Is Truth?
‘A lie gets halfway
around the world before
the truth has a chance
to put its pants on.’
Winston Churchill

8. What Is Truth?
‘Often the surest
way to convey
misinformation is to
tell the strict truth.’
-Mark Twain

9. What Is Truth?
‘Reports of my
death have been
greatly
exaggerated.”
-Mark Twain

10. What Is Truth?
‘What I tell you
three times is true.’
-Lewis Carroll

11. What Is Truth?
“Truthiness”*
-Stephen Colbert
*“The quality of stating concepts or facts one wishes or believes to
be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true.”
-The American Dialect Society

12. Truth and Verification
Disinterested Pursuit of the Truth

13. What Do Journalists Mean By Truth?
Is getting the facts right the truth?
Is being ‘objective’ the
same thing as being truthful?
Is being ‘fair’ the
same thing as being truthful?
Is there one truth we can all agree on?

14. Scientific Truth
Scientific truth is a
statement of probability
proportional to the
evidence. It will change
over time as the
evidence changes.

15. Journalism and Science
Like scientists, journalists do not believe in absolute
truth. Truth is provisional. It changes over time.

16. Journalism and Science
Like scientists, journalists strive for a pragmatic truth,
a truth that helps explain the world and
helps you function day-to-day

17. Journalism and Science
Like science, journalism employs
a system of peer review.

18. Journalism and Science
Like the scientific method, the journalistic process
of verification relies on a system
of sorting and testing information

19. Truth is Provisional
BYU Professor Murdered
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(Paul Fraughton | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah County Sheriff James Tracy speaks at a press conference at his office,
where it was announced that arrests have been made in the Mortensen murder investigation on Tuesday, December 7,
2010. Standing behind the sheriff is John Nielson of the Utah County Attorney's Office.
Twist in Mortensen slaying:
Two men arrested
BY AARON FALK
Mortensen case » The Salt Lake Tribune
7 Like 4
Arrest of two men First published Dec 07 2010 02:33PM
in Vernal may Updated Mar 23, 2011 12:25AM
mean original Spanish Fork • For nearly five months Pamela Ann and Roger K. Mortensen have
suspects — hisson been locked up, charged with the grisly death of Roger’s father, who was found
bent over the bathtub of his Payson home with his throat slit in November 2009.
and daughter-in-
law — could go But with the arrest Tuesday of two men in Vernal, a pair of 23-year-olds police say
were targeting Kay Mortensen’s extensive cache of firearms, it appears the
free. murder charges against Roger and Pam Mortensen will be dismissed.
Article Tools Instead Wednesday, prosecutors plan to charge Ben David Rettig and Martin
Cameron Bond with the slaying of the retired BYU professor. Most Popular
Deseret News
» E-mail this story Rettig and Bond were arrested Tuesday after a tip led police to a Vernal home. 1. ‘Sister Wives’ family speaks in new court filings
» Printer-friendly version 2. Utah study: Gastric bypass for obese may put
There, Bond admitted some involvement in the slaying and said he helped tie up
diabetes in remission
Photos
two other people who arrived at Mortensen’s Payson Canyon home on Nov. 16, 3. Utah football: Utes halfway through season,
2009, according to jail documents. reaching potential
4. Dining in the dark at the Tin Angel Cafe
All along, Roger and Pam Mortensen claimed that Kay Mortensen was killed by 5. Utah teen improves from train accident that killed 2
July 29, 2010 Salt Lake Tribune
others
two or three men who came into the home, tied them up and stole 32 guns. They
6. Gordon Monson: Don’t be fooled by BYU’s illusion
told police that after freeing themselves, they found the retired engineering 7. West Valley City teacher honored for creative
professor dead. approach
8. Mormon apostle to Senate: Keep charitable
"It turns out everything Roger said is absolutely true," said Roger Mortensen’s deductions
Dec 7, 2010
9. Republicans approve new Utah congressional map
attorney, Anthony Howell, who added that his client is "ecstatic."
10. Bankruptcy filings up 7 percent in Utah
But Roger Mortensen may not be freed immediately. He is also charged in federal
court with being a felon in possession of firearms, and Howell expects federal
authorities to keep his client in jail. Court documents say detectives found guns in
Roger Mortensen’s home while serving a search warrant in the murder case. GARAGE DOOR TUNE,
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Salt Lake Tribune
Asked whether the Mortensens were still being investigated in the case, Utah INSPECTION
County Sheriff James Tracy said, "I’m not prepared to say we’re not going to
continue looking at them. They were persons of interest and they remain persons
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of interest."
Oct 17, 2011
Related Stories Story continues below The Salt Lake Tribune
Mortensen case: Like You like this.
Woman freed from jail Woman attacked,
after murder charges
dropped
robbed while 8,017 people like The Salt Lake Tribune.
December 9, 2010 walking in Memory
Grove
Published Oct 18, 2011
Latest In Utah News 07:49:00AM 51 Comments
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Posted 31 minutes ago Dale Cressman shared Two Utah County

21. Truth is Provisional
Journalists Are Given the Wrong Information

22. Truth is Provisional
We Extend the Frontiers of Knowledge

23. Truth is Provisional
We Extend the Frontiers of Knowledge

24. Truth is Provisional

25. Truth is Provisional
We Extend the Frontiers of Knowledge

26. What IS the Truth?

27. Provisional Truth Confuses

28. Wait…WHAT?

29. Journalistic Truth
Journalistic truth is the best obtainable
version of the truth on any given day.
It is a continuing journey toward
understanding . . . which begins on the first
day of a story and builds over time.

30. The Lesson for the News Consumer
Follow
the Story
Over Time

31. Four Big Questions today:
1) What IS truth?
2) How does the verification process
work?
3) Why does it break down?
4) What kinds of evidence should a
news consumer look for?

32. Seeking Truth
The Journalist’s Discipline of Verification
Gather, Assess, and Weigh Evidence
Place Facts in The Big Picture (Context)
As Appropriate, Adjust Balance or Fairness
Explain How They Know…(and What They Don’t Know)*
*This is called “Transparency.”

33. Seeking Truth
When Searching for the Truth
Not All Evidence is Equal
Direct Evidence Arm’s Length Evidence

34. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
A Hierarchy of Evidence
Photographs and Videos
Documents and Records
Personal Observation
Eyewitnesses

35. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Top of the Hierarchy: Photos and Video
You wouldn’t believe it if you didn’t see it

36. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Top of the Hierarchy: Photos and Video
It’s a “He said…She said…” story un;l you see the pictures

37. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Near Top of the Hierarchy:
Documents/Records
“Birtherism” folds in the face of documentary evidence

38. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Personal Observation

39. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Personal Observation

40. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Innocence.wmv
Eyewitnesses Provide Details, Emo9on, “Color”

41. Eyewitnesses and The Truth
Is the Human Mind a Digital Recorder?

42. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Eyewitnesses

43. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
WARNING: Evidence from Arm’s Length
Second and Third-hand accounts
“White House Spokesperson Jay Carney”
Police Commissioners (relaying officer info)
Expert Reconstruction/Re-creation

44. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Evidence from Arm’s Length
Police Spokespersons (relaying officer info)

45. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Evidence from Arm’s Length
Second and Third-hand accounts
“C.J. Karamargin, an aide to Congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords…”

46. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Evidence from Arm’s Length
Expert suppositions/hypotheticals

47. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Evidence from Arm’s Length
ABC News’ Reconstruction/Recreation of Bin Laden Raid

48. Four Big Questions today:
1) What IS truth?
2) How does the verification process
work?
3) Why does it break down?
4) What kinds of evidence should a
news consumer look for?

49. Why Verification Breaks Down
Journalists rush to get the story first, jump
the gun
Facing deadline, some journalists get sloppy
or provide incomplete reports
People (sources) give reporters incorrect
informa;on…or outright lie
Verifica;on is very difficult, even when
sources are helpful

50. Why Verification Breaks Down
Journalists rush to get the story first, jump
the gun

51. Why Verification Breaks Down
Facing deadline, some journalists get sloppy
or provide incomplete reports

52. Why Verification Breaks Down
People (sources) give reporters incorrect
informa;on…or outright lie
…Eight days later, Schnucks announced it was selling its
Memphis stores to Kroger..

53. Why Verification Breaks Down

54. Lesson #3 for the News Consumer

55. Lesson #3 for the News Consumer

56. Lesson #3 for the News Consumer
Always ask:
Did the
Reporter
Open the
Freezer?

57. Four Big Questions today:
1) What IS truth?
2) How does the verification process
work?
3) Why does it break down?
4) What kinds of evidence should a
news consumer look for?

58. How Journalists Pursue the Truth
Hierarchy of Evidence: Wreck Scene
Direct Evidence: Arm’s Length
Evidence:
• Driver of Car • Campus Police
• Eyewitnesses • University Officials
• Breathalyzer Report • Lawyer for Driver
• Driving Records • Friends and
Relatives of Victims
• Accident Reports
for the Road • Family of Driver
• Students on
Campus

59. Pursuing Reliable Information
1) What IS truth?
2) How does the verification
process work?
3) Why does it break down?
4) What kinds of evidence should a
news consumer look for?

60. A Big Day:
Two Key Lessons
• Follow the story.
• Ask yourself: has the reporter
opened the freezer?

61. Assignment
• None: study for exam

62. Exam info
• Take home exam
• Submitted on Turnitin.com
• Available November 2
• Due November 8
• Short answer and essay on material
presented up to Week 6.
• Study guide available next week