Published: August 04, 1999
Last Updated: August 10, 1999
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San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News: Accuracy Major initiative Today’s sophisticated news consumers expect accurate reporting of all of today’s complex stories, but many newspaper journalists do not have a deep background in many of those complex issues. Taking advantage of the fact that it serves Silicon Valley, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News’ initiative is designed to determine whether pre-publication fact-checking of stories by experts in specialized fields such as technology or science can improve story accuracy. Reporters will establish panels of objective experts — who are not part of the stories — who will review the articles before publication. Accuracy questionnaires then will be created, and sent to sources mentioned in the stories. Comparisons will then be made between the responses to stories developed by reporters who contacted outside experts vs. those who didn’t. In addition, we will debrief the participating reporters to determine what they’ve learned and whether they think this sort of fact checking should be institutionalized. Import to the JCP While common within the magazine industry, fact-checkers are rare within daily newspapers despite the fact that there’s an increasingly broad range of technical or specialized coverage (e.g., medicine, technology, law, environment, etc.) being included in dailies. This JCP initiative will help answer the important question of whether fact-checking shouldn’t be as much a part of the newspaper process as copy-editing. JCP test method A standardized questionnaire will be developed to query respondents on various aspects of a story’s accuracy, including technical measures such as: Terminology (e.g., correct usage of technical terms, acronyms). Proper context (e.g., appropriate event precedents, attributions). Factual accuracy (e.g., complete and precise expression of news event, quotes). "Standard" criteria of story accuracy will also be measured, including: Correct spelling, grammar, names/title identification. Correct graphic representations and labels. Headlines that mirror the import of the event. For selected stories, an accuracy questionnaire with a copy of the article attached will be mailed to sources for comment. Reaction to stories that were vetted by outside experts before publication will be compared to those that were not, with responses tabulated internally by the Mercury News. Supporting initiatives In addition to its major initiative, the Mercury News will: Track and categorize corrections. Create a common understanding of the goals of assigning editors, and the level of prosecution they expect (including graphics, etc.). Resume accuracy letters for many stories, not just those in this experiment. Begin to teach what some editors call "prosecutorial" editing, a more rigorous kind of assignment editing in which editors question in more detail whether stories are framed correctly, and whether the facts truly support any conclusions drawn by the reporter. Help achieve greater public understanding of the news process, changing page 2-A to answer questions about the paper and otherwise increase accessibility. Consider showing our front-page meeting on Mercury Center (through streaming-video techniques) or on a local TV station. For more information, contact Jerry Ceppos, executive editor, at 408/920-5456; e-mail: jceppos@sjmercury.com