COVERITLIVE.COM

11:57

Chris Hogg - Welcome everyone to DigitalJournal.com's online liveblog "Reporting 101" class to discuss balance and bias in news reporting. The liveblog will begin shortly. You may submit questions anytime and we'll get to all your questions as soon as possible.

11:58

David Silverberg - Please make sure the questions are related to the topic. More general questions can be asked after the discussion

12:01

Chris Hogg - So let's begin. Today's topic will address ways to improve writing, avoid bias in reporting (even when it's unintentional), how to remain professionally detached and how to look for sources and quote people in articles.

12:02

David Silverberg - First, what is balanced journalism? These are stories that cover multiple perspectives, giving equal time to opposing viewpoints. It’s unbiased, doesn’t contain loaded or leading language, and ensures all the facts are accurate.

12:03

Chris Hogg - Every reporter should make sure he/she interviews multiple sources for an article, or at the very least cites multiple sources. It’s important to cover all bases. If you are doing a story on environmental damage due to a polluting factory, you need to interview at least three people – the CEO of the factory, an environmental protection agency, and a politician who may be/should be investigating this issue.

12:03

[Comment From Leonard B.]
Amen. I am sick of right-wingers quoting right-wingers and the left quoting left. In America this is a plague.

12:04

David Silverberg - Or maybe you’re writing a story about outages on a site like Twitter. Sure it’s fine to interview people affected by those blackouts, but a fair story would make sure someone from Twitter has a chance to reply. It’s tough to get a hold of some of these executives but you don’t have to rush a story simply because you interviewed one person.

12:05

Chris Hogg - Being balanced means giving equal “air time” to your sources. So a story on ACORN shouldn’t have 400 words from ACORN opponents and 20 words from an ACORN representative. There’s an obvious imbalance in that reporting. The same can be said with pro-Obama poll results. A piece that is largely in favour of the President needs to have balance added because there are those people who disagree. You need to find them and quote them so their side of the story is included.

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