More Ledes: Fatals Recap

During this semester, we will review each and every serious fact error -- known as a "fatal" -- in hopes of learning lessons on what kinds of mistakes are common, and what we need to watch for and avoid.

Let's start with this lede: 

A unique idea, developed by scientists at MSU and other schools to transplant African wildlife to the Great Planes of North America, is being criticized for its many consequences. 

What we meant to say was Great Plains, which refers to a geographic area in the United States. But we said Great Planes, as in aircraft. (This exact mistake actually happened to two people on this exact same exercise in my spring class!)

And this reveals a principle that will be important for you to learn, ASAP: spell check will be of no help when your incorrectly-spelled word creates a correctly-spelled but unintended word.

That's why we don't simply run spell check, and we still check each fact, title, statistic and, yes, name. 

Remember the lesson: spell check is a supplement to -- but not a substitute for -- checking an article fact-by-fact with your own eyes.

The lede, structurally, is a good lede. But what we do is of no use to our audience if it's incorrect or confusing. We need to make sure our information is correct, and that we are using the correct words, correctly.

Is that being nit-picky? No; that's journalism. Giving people accurate information that has been carefully vetted is what we do. Early in the semester, I called journalism a "discipline of verification." This is what I meant.

Learning to write isn't journalism. Learning to organize information isn't all of journalism. Putting in a system of checking facts before, during and after writing and organizing information is what makes this kind of writing and organizing known as journalism.


Still, while this is discouraging, let's not get discouraged. The whole point of these exercises -- and getting fatals, too -- is to learn by doing, reviewing what was done, learning what could be done better, and then applying those lessons the next time.

And that's what we're going to do here, by redoubling our efforts to carefully fact-check everything we write.

Earlier this semester in a pair of blog posts, I posted an accuracy checklist and a list of ways to avoid inaccuracies. I would strongly suggest that you revisit those two blog posts, and begin incorporating its suggestions in your writing routines.

I've said it before, and I'll say it a bazillion more times before the semester ends: journalism isn't about writing; it's about getting it right.