Can You Trust the News?

Student Guide

OPINION / INTERNET

Can you tell the difference between good and bad journalism?

This short activity will show you how. You will use a handy review form developed by NewsTrust, our nonprofit site promoting good journalism. This review form will help you evaluate the quality of news stories and opinions – and learn to recognize credible information.

To get started, sign up on this special student page: http://newstrust.net/students
(If you already signed up before, please login.)

Then come back here and follow the step-by-step instructions in this student guide.

You will first read the story linked below, then rate it using the NewsTrust review form.
Quick tips at the end of this page can help you review this story.

If you need more help, email us at .

Good luck!

1. READ THIS STORY

Read this short opinion piece: (click link below)

Excuses wearing thin for Obama, media pals
Chicago Sun Times – Oct. 20, 2009

After reading the story, rate it with our review form. (see below)

2. RATE THIS STORY

Please rate the story with the NewsTrust review form.

Click the yellow “Review” button at the top of the story page to open up the review form.
(Make sure that the dropdown menu at the top right corner of that review form is set to ‘Quick Review.’)

Answer these rating questions in the Quick Review form:

• Is this story insightful?
  Is it well reasoned? thoughtful?
• Is it informative?
  Did you learn something new?
• Is it well written?
  Is it clear? concise? compelling?
• Do you recommend this story?
  Is this good journalism?
• Do you trust this publication?
  Is this news provider credible?

For help on how to rate a story, check the quick review tips below.

When you’re done reviewing the story, tell us why you rated it that way.

• Notes:
  Is this good journalism? Why?

Write your observations about the quality of this story in the notes section of the review form, using 1-3 complete sentences.

3. MORE ACTVITIES

When you’re done, see how other people reviewed this story on NewsTrust.

To practice your review skills, try rating more stories picked by our editors.

You can also try reviewing a news story on our other student guide for news.

4. REVIEW TIPS

To rate a story, you will be using the NewsTrust review form – it is like a score pad, with short questions about the story you are reviewing. Answering these questions will help you determine the quality of that story.

Here are some tips on how to answer questions in the NewsTrust review form for opinions.

• Is this story insightful?
Is it well reasoned? Thoughtful? Does this story give an intelligent perspective on the subject? Are the author's arguments well supported and logical? An insightful story "connects the dots" to explain things that aren't immediately obvious. In doing so, it draws reasonable conclusions that may include effective solutions to a given problem.

• Is it informative?
Did you learn something new? Do the facts in this story help you better understand the subject? Good journalism takes information that isn’t readily available to us, and may be hard to interpret, and makes it quicker and easier to understand. This question asks how well a news story or opinion does that.

• Is it well-written?
Is this story clear? Concise? Compelling? Does it present useful information in an interesting way? Does it make complex issues easier to understand? Is the style appropriate for the topic? Is it grammatical? The way a story is written and presented impacts how many people it reaches.

• Do you recommend this story?
Is this quality journalism? Would you recommend this story to a friend or colleague? Is this information you think they should know, based on the questions you just answered?

• Do you trust this publication?
Can this news source be trusted? Does this publication usually offer reliable information? Is it trustworthy, based on the stories you've reviewed and what you know about the publisher? Credibility tracks a publication's reputation for journalistic quality, which helps it maintain a good dialogue with its audience.

Remember these review tips next time you read, watch or listen to the news – and try to use this review form as a checklist, to determine whether it is good (or bad) journalism.

5. NEWS VS. OPINION

One last thing for you to keep in mind is the difference between news and opinion:

News formats include:

1. News Report – disseminating facts the public needs to know
2. News Analysis – interpreting issues and events objectively and impersonally
3. Special Report – focusing in-depth on an issue, newsmaker or event
4. Breaking News – covering news events as they happen
5. Investigative Reporting – disclosing data, documents, and testimony
6. Poll – surveying the public about issues, newsmakers and events

Opinion formats include:

1. Opinion – a stance about an issue, newsmaker or event
2. Editorial – the voice of an entire publication, such as a newspaper or television station
3. Interview – questions and answers featuring a newsmaker or source
4. Speech – spoken remarks by a newsmaker or source
5. Comment – statement or blog post about issues, newsmakers and events

Remember these definitions when you review stories with the NewsTrust site.

To learn more about recognizing good journalism, whether it is news or opinion, read our other online guides.