Comments on: New rules for news http://futurismic.com/2009/10/12/new-rules-for-news/ Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001 Sat, 19 May 2012 23:03:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Stephen J. http://futurismic.com/2009/10/12/new-rules-for-news/comment-page-1/#comment-49386 Stephen J. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:02:26 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=9254#comment-49386 Whenever a mistake was found and a correction had to be issued, the correction would be required to be of the same profile or higher as the original story. Make a mistake on your page A2 story, you have to run the correction on page A1; no more burying your corrections in 8-point type at the bottom of page A29. If you make a mistake in your primary headline story the correction has to be the next day's primary headline story, no matter what else is happening. And online errors must be left in place along with their correction -- no conveniently vanishing-down-the-Internet-empty-cache memory hole mistakes. Without exception, the bloggers and blogs I respect most and take most seriously are the ones who admit to their errors and leave them in place as part of the record. Whenever a mistake was found and a correction had to be issued, the correction would be required to be of the same profile or higher as the original story. Make a mistake on your page A2 story, you have to run the correction on page A1; no more burying your corrections in 8-point type at the bottom of page A29. If you make a mistake in your primary headline story the correction has to be the next day’s primary headline story, no matter what else is happening.

And online errors must be left in place along with their correction — no conveniently vanishing-down-the-Internet-empty-cache memory hole mistakes.

Without exception, the bloggers and blogs I respect most and take most seriously are the ones who admit to their errors and leave them in place as part of the record.

]]> By: Craig B http://futurismic.com/2009/10/12/new-rules-for-news/comment-page-1/#comment-49148 Craig B Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:31:44 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=9254#comment-49148 6. We would refuse to do stenography and call it journalism. If one faction or party to a dispute is lying, we would say so, with the accompanying evidence. If we learned that a significant number of people in our community believed a lie about an important person or issue, we would make it part of an ongoing mission to help them understand the truth. This, I think, is probably the biggest failing of online journalism as it stands today. Far too many people will believe their one source of information and not even bother looking for corroborating sources. Compound that fact upon the echo chamber effect between news organizations, and it becomes far too easy for some misleading falsehood to spread to the public consciousness. 6. We would refuse to do stenography and call it journalism. If one faction or party to a dispute is lying, we would say so, with the accompanying evidence. If we learned that a significant number of people in our community believed a lie about an important person or issue, we would make it part of an ongoing mission to help them understand the truth.

This, I think, is probably the biggest failing of online journalism as it stands today. Far too many people will believe their one source of information and not even bother looking for corroborating sources. Compound that fact upon the echo chamber effect between news organizations, and it becomes far too easy for some misleading falsehood to spread to the public consciousness.

]]> By: Ian Sales http://futurismic.com/2009/10/12/new-rules-for-news/comment-page-1/#comment-49137 Ian Sales Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:25:12 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=9254#comment-49137 My rule would be: never confuse opinion for fact, or misrepresent it as fact. My rule would be: never confuse opinion for fact, or misrepresent it as fact.

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