NewsTrust Survey - Invitation and Review Forms

Survey Invitation and Review Forms

Transcripts of the email invitation and survey forms are included below, in order of appearance:

Sample Email Invitation (News Report – Full Review Tool)

From: Fabrice Florin – NewsTrust <fabriceflorin@newstrust.net>

To: <Full Name> <email address>

Subject: Help us rate the news

Greetings!

Last spring, you joined a survey about NewsTrust, our citizen news network. Based on your response, we've developed an online review tool to help you find "news you can trust", selected by our members from thousands of blogs and news sources (see below).

Today, we're inviting you to rate a news report with this tool, based on journalistic quality, rather popularity or ideology. Try it out and tell us what you think. This survey takes about [20] minutes.

Click below to rate the news:

[SurveyLink]

(you may need to copy and paste this address into your browser)

We're getting ready to launch our first pilot site in January 2006, by invitation only. The pilot site will feature the best and the worst news of the day, based on ratings from members like you. To join this pilot, simply sign up at the end of the survey.

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at <surveys@newstrust.net>.

Thanks for helping us rate the news.

Happy Holidays!

Fabrice Florin and the NewsTrust team

December 15, 2005

P.S.: If you are a journalist and would like to blog or write about this project, please email us at <press@newstrust.net>. We plan to go public in mid-2006.

_____________________

ABOUT NEWSTRUST

In recent years, the consolidation of mainstream media, combined with the rise of opinion news and the explosion of new media outlets, have created a serious problem for democracy: many people feel they can no longer trust the news media to deliver the information they need to make decisions about our democracy.

To address this critical issue, NewsTrust is developing an online social network to help people identify quality journalism - or "news you can trust." Our members will rate the news online, based on journalistic quality, rather than popularity or ideology. Our free website and email feed will feature the best and the worst news of the day, selected from thousands of blogs and mainstream media.

We're a non-profit, non-partisan online community of citizens like you. NewsTrust is led by Fabrice Florin, a former journalist and a digital media pioneer at Apple and Macromedia. Our team includes award-winning journalist and media executive Rory O'Connor and former Lucasfilm product manager David Fox. Founded in 2005 and based in Mill Valley, California, NewsTrust is funded through grants and private donations and sponsored by The Global Center, an educational foundation based in Manhattan.

For more info, visit our site:

http://www.newstrust.net

_____________________

ABOUT THIS SURVEY

This survey is collaboration between NewsTrust and Michigan State University. The purpose of this research is to learn how people rate news stories, and to develop reliable online review tools for our community. The results of this survey will be posted on the NewsTrust site in January 2006.

This survey ends Wednesday, December 21st, 2005 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you may drop out at any time.

If you have any questions about this survey, please email <surveys@newstrust.net>. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of this survey, you may contact the principal investigator at Michigan State University at the address below:

Cliff Lampe, Ph.D., 419 Communication Arts Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 – Tel: (517) 355-8372, Fax: (517) 355-8373, Email: <lampecli@msu.edu>. Further concerns about this survey can be addressed with the Michigan State University institutional review board: Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS): 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824 - Tel: (517) 355-2180, Fax: (517) 432-4503, Email: <ucrihs@msu.edu>

_____________________

NewsTrust treats your contact information as private and confidential. We will not share it with anyone without your permission. See our full privacy policy:

http://newstrust.net/survey/privacy_policy.htm

_____________________

SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT

NewsTrust is sending you this message because you told us you wanted to participate in future surveys about this service.

To IMMEDIATELY remove your email address from this mailing list, please go to:

[RemoveLink]

Survey Welcome Screen:

Welcome!

Thanks for taking our news rating survey.

This survey takes about 20 minutes to complete. You will first rate a news story, using a new online review tool. Then we will ask a few questions about the tool and about you.

This survey is a collaboration between NewsTrust and Michigan State University. The purpose of this research study is to learn how people rate news stories, and to help develop NewsTrust review tools. We plan to publish our findings for this study in 2006 on one or more websites, including: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.newstrust.net"> www.newstrust.net</a>

You must be at least 18 years old to participate in this survey. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you may drop out at any time. You may also decline to answer any question in the survey. Your contact information will be kept strictly confidential and will not be shared with anyone without your prior permission (see our <a href=""

onClick="return popup('privacy_policy.htm','privacy',540,420)" >Privacy Policy</a>).

If you have any questions about this study, please email <a href="mailto:surveys@newstrust.net">surveys@newstrust.net</a>. We do not anticipate any risks to participating in this study. Should any arise, or if you have any concerns about your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisfied with any aspect of this study, you may contact Michigan State University representatives at the addresses below:

Cliff Lampe, Principal Investigator: 409 Comm. Arts Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1212 – Tel: (517) 432-1334

Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS):

202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824 - Tel: (517) 355-2180, Fax: (517) 432-4503, Email: ucrihs@msu.edu

By entering your name and clicking "Next" below, you agree to participate as a volunteer in this study and confirm that you have read and understood the information above.

Please enter your full name: ________

Next >>

NewsTrust treats your contact information as private and confidential. We will not provide your contact information to any other organization without your permission.

We treat your ratings and comments as public information. We may, for example, make your comments available to the press and to the public, along with your state and country, but without ever disclosing your name, email address, or other personal information.

We will send you any follow-up information you request about this project by email. We will do our best to respect your time and attention. You can remove yourself from our mailing list at any time by replying to any of our email messages and requesting to be unsubscribed.

This project is managed by NewsTrust, a non-profit organization based in Mill Valley, CA. Visit our site for more information, or email us at <a href="mailto:surveys@newstrust.net">surveys@newstrust.net</a>.

Read This Story:

The story you will review today is on the right half of this page. Be sure to maximize your browser window to fill your screen. You can adjust the position of this story by dragging the middle bar or the scroll bars. If you do not see a story on the right, check out our <A href=""

onClick="return popup('faq.htm','faq',540,420)">FAQ</a>.

Read this story carefully. In the next pages, we will ask you a few questions about the journalistic quality of this story, which has been edited for the purposes of this test. Required questions are marked with an asterisk (*), all other questions are optional. If you are not sure how to answer, click on the <A href=""

onClick="return popup('help.htm','help',540,420)">Help</a> button at the bottom of each page.

For more help, please email us at <a href="mailto:surveys@newstrust.net">surveys@newstrust.net</a>.

When you are ready to continue, press Next below.

Next >>

About This Story

Next are four variants of the story questionnaire, one for each version of the survey:

Full Review Tool (F) (News Report)

The Full Review Tool for the news report includes these sets of questions, grouped into pages.

* How much new information did you get from this story?

* How well does this story support its points with factual evidence?

* How well does this story identify its sources?

* How well does the story seek out diverse sources?

* How credible are this story's sources?

* How fair is this story?

* How well does this story represent all important viewpoints?

* How well does this story seek out facts, rather than opinions?

* How accurate is this story?

* How clear is this story?

* How original is this story?

* How well does this story help you see the "big picture?"

* How do you rate the overall quality of this story?

- Write your comments below.

This full version of the review tool includes 13 quantitative questions about the story under review. It also includes one qualitative question, the comments field.

Detailed Review Tool (D)

The Distributed Review Tool consists of three different sets of questions. These questions are culled from the Full Review tool, and grouped in clusters of 4-5 questions (thematically related but not explicitly labeled), plus 1 overall quality question.

* How well does this story support its points with factual evidence?

* How well does this story identify its sources?

* How well does this story represent all important viewpoints?

* How well does this story seek out diverse sources?

* How well does this story seek out facts, rather than opinions?

* How well does this story help you see the "big picture?"

* How do you rate the overall quality of this story?

Short Review Tool (S)

This Short Review Tool provides 6 overview questions:

1. Accuracy - How accurate is this story?

2. Fairness - How fair is this story?

3. Information - How informative is this story?

4. Originality – How original is this story?

5. Sources – How credible are this story's sources?

6. Overall Rating - How do you rate this story?

Mini Review Tool (M)

This Mini Review Tool only provides one question:

* Overall Rating - How do you rate this story?

This option is currently provided by a number of news providers, such as Yahoo, and tends to be used as an indicator of popularity, not quality. We want to test how our quality review tools compare.

Full Review Tool (Blog/Opinion Piece)

The Full Review Tool for a blog/opinion piece includes these sets of questions, grouped into pages.

* How much new information did you get from this article?

* How well does this article support its points with factual evidence?

* How well does this article identify its sources?

* How accurate is this article?

* How clear is this article?

* How fair is this article?

* How well does this article present other viewpoints?

* How well does this article seek out diverse sources?

* How credible are this article's sources?

* How respectful is this article towards other viewpoints?

* How original is this article?

* How well does this article help you see the "big picture?"

* How important is this topic?

* How do you rate the overall quality of this article?

- Write your comments below.

* How well does this article represent your own viewpoint?

* How well does this article challenge your own viewpoint?

+ Does this article favor any political viewpoint? If so, which viewpoint?

Final Questions

Our final questions are divided into four sections:

About This Topic / Viewpoints

* How important is this topic?

* How much did you know about this topic, before reading the story? *

* How well does this story represent your own viewpoint?

* How well does this story challenge your own viewpoint?

+ Does this story favor any political viewpoint? If so, which viewpoint?

About This Review Tool:

* How well did this review tool help you evaluate the quality of the story?

+ What would you mostly use this tool for?

+ What do you think about the length of this review?

[too long, too short, just right]

+ How often do you think you would use this tool?

- How could this tool be improved?

About NewsTrust

Finally, we'd like to hear what you think about NewsTrust, as described below:

NewsTrust was created to help you find quality journalism – or "news you can trust." Our free website and email news feed will feature the best and worst stories of the day, selected by members like you, from a variety of blogs and mainstream sources. Our online review tools will let you rate the news based on journalistic quality, rather than popularity or ideology. NewsTrust is a non-profit, non-partisan community of concerned citizens and journalists.

* How interested are you in this new online service?

Our pilot site opens in January 2006, by invitation-only. Our public site is expected to launch in mid-2006.

Would you like to participate in this project?

If so, check any option below that interests you.

[ ] I would like to check the pilot site

[ ] I would like to rate the news on the pilot site

[ ] I would like to volunteer to develop this service

[ ] I would like to make a donation

[ ] Notify me when the public site launches

[ ] Please take me off your mailing list

Enter your email (see our privacy policy)

About You:

* How much experience do you have as a journalist? (if any)

+ How much time do you spend watching, reading or listening to the news?

+ How much time do you spend on the Internet?

+ Which world region do you live in?

+ If you live in the US, what is your zip code?

+ What is the last year of schooling that you completed?

+ What is your age group?

+ What is your gender?

+ In political terms, would you say that you are:

[conservative to liberal or decline to state]

+ Last year, what was your total family income from all sources, before taxes?

Thank You!

Thanks for completing this survey. We know your time is valuable and we really appreciate your participation. If you have any questions or comments, please email us. For more info, visit our site: www.newstrust.net. Survey results will be posted there in January 2006.

Thanks again for helping rate the news!

The NewsTrust Team

NewsTrust Review Help

Available online at:

http://www.newstrust.net/survey/help.htm

Transcript below:

If you have technical questions about this survey, please click here:

http://www.newstrust.net/survey/faq.htm

Here are a few tips on how to answer questions in our review tool. We are testing different versions of our review tool, so your questionnaire may only include some of the questions below. Required questions are marked with an asterisk (*) and must be answered to complete the survey.

Q: How much new information did you get from this story?

This question assesses how much you personally learned from this story, compared to what you knew before, or compared to other similar stories you may have seen or heard.

Q: How well does this story back its points with factual evidence?

This question refers to whether the right sources are quoted (authoritative quotes, appropriate statistics, documents, etc.), to support the assertions in the headline and lead paragraphs (i.e., the principal generalizations the story makes). Expert sources whose view might not be influenced by a stake in the event or issue are particularly valuable; they help move reporting beyond "he said/she said" counterclaims that can leave readers confused. Documents and statistics often provide more compelling evidence for a generalization than statements by individuals. Multiple sources of evidence strengthen the support.

Q: How well does this story identify its sources?

This question refers to the level of care the reporter takes to inform readers about where the information came from (clearly indicating and naming sources, explaining why a source may have been granted anonymity and providing some identifying information to help the reader/viewer assess credibility). As a rule, all sources should be named, including other news organizations. When a source cannot be named, readers are owed an explanation of why. Reporters should also provide as much information short of identification to permit the reader to assess the credibility of an unnamed source. Readers have a right to know how the story was gathered including any unconventional means. Surveys should indicate whether the approach was scientific — based on random selection of respondents — and describe the margins of error, sample size and response rate.

Q: How well does this story seek out diverse sources?

This question explores the level of inclusiveness in choosing sources that provide diversity along gender, race/ethnicity, class (socio-economic status), etc. How you see the world depends on where you stand.

Q: How credible are this story's sources?

This question helps us evaluate whether the sources cited in this story can be trusted to provide reliable information. Are those sources qualified to provide information based on special expertise, or unique knowledge of the facts?

Q: How fair is this story?

Journalists are expected to present fairly all sides of a controversy. Note this doesn't necessarily mean equal space for all sides. The space allotted to each side should be based on the evidence for its claims and its willingness to respond. Each relevant side, however, should be afforded the opportunity to make its core argument, or decline comment.

Q: How well does this story represent all important viewpoints?

This question probes whether one or more important sides to the event or issue are missing or given less space than they deserve. In general, the more perspectives a story includes, the fuller the picture of reality it provides. Note that most news stories only have room for the core arguments each side makes, rather than their complete point of view.

Q: How well does this story seek out facts, rather than opinions?

This question helps us evaluate whether the story places facts over opinions. Are any opinions presented here as facts?

Q: How accurate is this story?

Here we evaluate how closely the description of events and issues in this story matches reality as you know it. When assessing a story's accuracy, be sure to review both its sources and the journalistic statements. How well do they square with the reality you observed, what other media reported or what you already know about this topic? In most cases, you may not be able to judge the accuracy of quoted material. But if you happen to know a quote is off, that would inform your judgment of the overall accuracy of the reporting. If you don't have access to these resources, select "not sure". Don't rate the story merely on plausibility.

Q: How clear is this story?

This question assesses the overall clarity of the story. Is it well presented and easy to understand?

Q: How original is this story?

Here we evaluate the originality of this story's news coverage and/or interpretation. Is the journalist providing original information here, or merely repeating what others have written about this topic?

Q: How well does this story help you see the "big picture"?

This question asks how well the story provides context by seeking answers to questions the public most needs to know about this issue or event. "Big picture" reporting that asks about causes, effects, solutions and trends, rather than describing a particular episode, such as a shooting, fire or accident, is also more helpful for this key sense-making function of news. This question also examines how carefully the reporter explains unfamiliar terms and processes for the average reader.

Q: How do you rate the overall quality of this story? *

This required question sums up your overall evaluation of this story, based on its journalistic quality. We're not asking here whether you agree with the story, or whether you think it's entertaining. We want to know if you think this story was prepared according to the highest journalistic principles, such as accuracy, fairness, credibility and originality. Write your comments below, to explain why you gave it that rating.

Q: How important is this topic?

This question focuses on the importance of the topic or subject of the story, from the standpoint of informing citizens so they can participate in local, state and national government. Stories covering topics such as the lives of celebrities, sports news, fender-benders and purely human interest stories generally are not as helpful to people in making sense of the world around them as are stories covering politics, government, education, crime, science, military actions, economics, social trends, etc. Another way to judge the importance of a story's topic is to ask yourself how many people are affected by the topic of this story? tens? thousands? millions? billions?

Q: How much did you know about this topic? *

Before reading this story, how much information did you have on this subject? This knowledge could be specific to the event or issue, or more general — perhaps familiarity with other similar topics.

About NewsTrust

For more info, visit our site.

About This Survey

This survey is a collaboration between NewsTrust and Michigan State University. The purpose of this research is to learn how people rate news stories, and to develop reliable online review tools for our community. The results of this survey will be posted on the NewsTrust site in January 2006.

This survey ends Wednesday, December 21st, 2005 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you may drop out at any time.

Cliff Lampe, Ph.D., 419 Communication Arts Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 — Tel: (517) 355-8372, Fax: (517) 355-8373, Email: <lampecli@msu.edu>. Further concerns about this survey can be addressed with the Michigan State University institutional review board: Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS): 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824 - Tel: (517) 355-2180, Fax: (517) 432-4503, Email: <ucrihs@msu.edu>

NewsTrust treats your contact information as private and confidential. We will not share it with anyone without your permission. See our full privacy policy.

Subscription Management

NewsTrust invited you to take this survey because you told us you wanted to participate in future surveys about this service. To remove your email address from our mailing list, please email <unsubscribe@newstrust.net>

If you have technical questions about this survey, please click here.

Full Review Tool (F) (News Report)

Short Review Tool (S)

Mini Review Tool (M)

About This Topic / Viewpoints

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