Fact-check your story. If you don’t, you put your high school newspaper’s credibility on the line.
Just ask YouTube dancing phenomenon Matt Harding about his experience when featured in the New York Times. In the newspaper that he says “still represents the tippity top of journalism,” he found not one, not two, but three factual errors.
Harding, an internet sensation who has been all over the news, keeps a blog chronicling all of his appearances in the media. When the New York Times article came out, Harding posted the factual errors on his Web site and vented about being referred to as “doughy” by the article’s author, Charles McGrath.
Poynter’s Kelly McBride, who writes the Everyday Ethics section of Poynter Online, posted a great piece on Harding’s New York Times experience. McBride said:
- Factual errors can cost you readership. When Harding blogged about his dissatisfaction with the Times article, he redirected his readers to another newspaper entirely, The Chicago Tribune.
- Guard your credibility. The last thing any student newspaper wants is questionable credibility. Thorough copy-editing can help avoid errors that could tarnish the paper’s integrity.
- Avoid Subjective Language. Surely, Harding didn’t like being referred to as doughy (who would?) but the bigger concern is the use of subjective language by the journalist. Remember, unless you’re writing an editorial, your article should stick to objective facts. The readers can decide for themselves whether or not Harding is in fact “doughy.”
