Finding the Truth in Journalism

Writing Stories & Facts vs. Opinion 1 Stories you write are not about not about

you or your opinionyou or your opinion. . Therefore, it’s generally best to

write your stories in the third person.

Third person is any person, place, or thing other than the speaker (I, we) and the addressed (you).

This means using he, she, it, him, her, they, them, etc.

Eliminate the words I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, you and your from your story unless you indicate that a source said them.

Good stories do include both fact and opinion. Opinions must be attributed to attributed to

sourcessources. . Facts do not need to be

attributed, unless they are contested or controversial.

FactFactSomething that is true about a subject and

can be tested or proven.

A statement of fact can theoretically be checked for accuracy.

To see if something is a fact, ask yourself, “Can this statement be proved?

FactFactA fact is a statement that can be proven by direct

experience or objective verification.

Evidence may be in the form of: The testimony of witnessesAgreed-upon observationsThe written records of such testimony and

observationsThe result of research or investigation

Writing Stories & Facts vs. Opinion Don’t inject your opinion, even if

it’s in the third person. Good journalists make

observations, use colorful descriptions and interpret information.

Avoid words suggesting a personal judgment or opinion, such as should or good.

Avoid interpretation not supported by fact.

Reporters shouldn’t take sides on issues.

And if it’s a fact, double check it. Don’t rely on your teacher, an editor or an other student to catch mistakes.

Mistakes undermine your your credibilitycredibility and can even lead to lawsuits.

Types of Statements FactFactInferencInferenceeJudgmentJudgmentOpinionOpinion

Public View of Facts vs. Opinion

Pew Research Center for The People and The Press, “Public More Critical of Press, But Goodwill Persists,” June 26, 2005

FactFactYou should know that a statement of fact may

be found to be untrue.

When that happens, the statement is no longer a fact, it is an error.

InferenceInferenceA conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and

reasoning.Similar Terms:

DeductionConclusionReasoningConjectureSpeculationGuessPresumptionAssumptionSuppositionReckoningExtrapolation

JudgmentJudgmentThe ability to make considered decisions or come to

sensible.An opinion or conclusion.Similar Terms:

AssessmentEvaluationAppraisalReviewAnalysisCriticismCritique

OpinionsOpinionsUsually express the feelings, preferences or biases

that a person has about a subject.Are what someone believes or thinks, not necessarily

can be proven true or false. To check for opinions, ask yourself:

“Does this tell a thought or feeling?” “Would the statement be true all of the time?”

OpinionsOpinionsLook for clue words such as:

FeelBelieveAlwaysNeverNoneMostLeastBestWorst

Comparison

News vs. Opinion

Finding the difference Written sourceWritten sourceIt is important to distinguish between facts and opinions. Written materials often contain both facts and opinions such as:

ArticlesWeb site informationBiographiesNewspapers

Being able to tell them apart will help you judge the validity*validity* of a writer’s ideas.

It will also help you choose appropriate sources when doing research.

*valid*valid: logically correct; justifiable; well founded in fact

Finding the difference Direct sourceDirect sourceIt is important to distinguish between facts and

opinions. Direct sources (respondents) often give both facts

and opinions.Being able to tell whether information is fact or not

will help you judge how to use the information (type of quote).

It will also help you choose appropriate sources when doing research.

AttributionsGiving credit for a sourceNaming a source, respondent, interviewee

AttributionsAll opinions must be opinions must be attributed to a sourceAll facts are betterbetter if attributed to a source