Before one can understand the importance of verification in journalism, they need to understand that journalists are humans just like anyone else with opinions and biases. Why then do we have journalists if they have biases and opinions? Aren’t they supposed to be clear of biases? We make judgments every day that it is impossible for human beings to have absolutely opinions. So, it is inevitable that journalists will have opinions and biases. However, when they follow certain guidelines of newsgathering, they can present the truth to their audiences. A guideline that journalists need to follow is verification in their reporting.
One of the elements of journalism is “its essence is a discipline of verification” (Kovach & Rosenstiel). A part of verification is transparency. Transparency is vital because for journalists, it is the key to credibility. In The Elements of Journalism, Kovach and Rosenstiel outlined 5 principles of verification:
- Never add anything that was not there.
- Never deceive the audience.
- Be as transparent as possible about your methods and motives.
- Rely on your own original reporting.
- Exercise humility.
Never add anything that was not there. This speaks for itself. Adding anything extra to your reporting and story is not being honest. By adding information, one is taking the story out of focus and out of context. When one adds anything that was not there, they act no different than paparazzi/tabloids and propagandists. “This goes further than ‘never invent’ or make things up, for it also encompasses rearranging events in time or place or conflating characters or events” (Kovach & Rosenstiel 90). In other words, what you have gathered, don’t mess with it.
Never deceive the audience. As journalists, we communicate to the public. Deceiving or confusing audiences goes against the purpose. Deceiving is also not honest. There is always someone out there who is going to believe what you say. If one person realizes that you have been misleading them, you lose trust with that person and eventually with many people. “Fooling people is a form of lying and it mocks the idea that journalism is committed to truthfulness . . . This is a useful check. How would the audience feel if they knew you moved that sound to another point in the story to make it more dramatic? Most likely they would feel the move was cheesy” (Kovach & Rosenstiel 91). No one likes a liar or someone who exaggerates. So, don’t be one yourself. It’s that simple.
Be as transparent as possible about your methods and your motives. Walter Lippmann said, “There is no defense, no extenuation, no excuse whatsoever, for stating six times that Lenin is dead when the only information the paper possesses is a report that he is dead from a source repeatedly shown to be unreliable. The news, in that instance, is not that ‘Lenin is Dead’ but ‘Helsingfors Says Lenin is Dead.’ And a newspaper can be asked to take responsibility of not making Lenin more dead than the source of the news is reliable. If there is one subject on which editors are most responsible it is in their judgment of the reliability of the source” (Lippmann 226). Transparency is revealing to your audience all that you know about your sources and methods. This principle is considered to be the most important part of verification. Being transparent gives respect to the audience. This allows the audience to judge the validity of your story and your sources. With this check on the journalist, it allows less room for errors. It lets your audience know if there was bias in gathering information and reveals more about if your source is trying to deceive the audience as well. Explain how you learned something and why you believe it so your audience can do the same.
Rely on your original reporting. Refer to what you have gathered and your sources. Relying on your original reporting allows for you to be transparent and exercise humility. By doing your own work, you can double check/verify information you have gathered. It’s much harder to verify information that someone else gathered because you don’t know their motives and methods. “The more honest the journalist is with the audience about what he or she knows and doesn’t know, the more trustworthy the journalist is. Level with people. Make no claims to an omniscience you cannot justify. Acknowledging what is not known is a claim to more authority, not less” (Kovach & Rosenstiel 100).
Exercise humility. New York Times religion writer Laurie Goodstein told a story of a reporter who through her mistakes illustrates the importance of exercising humility (Goodstein CCJ Forum 1998). On the steps of the U.S. Capitol, there was an evangelical revival meeting. She reported that the revival was hostile and quoted from a Christian radio broadcaster who said “Let’s pray that God will slay everyone in the Capitol.” The reporter assumed that the broadcaster was meaning “kill” when he said “slay.” However, the reporter was not Pentecostal and later realized that according to a Pentecostal, “slay someone” means to “slay in spirit, praying that they are overcome with love for God and Jesus.” It was not only embarrassing for the reporter but the news agency she represented. True, the reporter acted with common sense but it never hurts to check with your sources if you have little or no knowledge on the event you’re reporting. Admit it. We don’t know everything. Journalists are humans too with shortcomings. When one exercises humility, the journalist is letting the audience know that they will be honest in their newsgathering. Being humble also means that you are open minded to what you collect because it only takes one source to change your entire story.
As journalists, we are encouraged to be more thoughtful in acquiring, organizing, and presenting the news. If we as journalists use these 5 principles of verification in our reporting, we will establish our credibility. We will strengthen the relationship between journalists and citizens. As journalists, we rely on the citizens to take what we say as truth.
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