More Ledes: Watch Your Facts

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:

PROBLEM: We said the dead driver hit a dog, two trees and a fence. In fact, he swerved to avoid the dog before he hit the trees and fence.

SOLUTION: Before we start writing, take time to make sure we correctly understand how things went down. Then, after we finish, we don't simply proof for spelling errors; we go through the story and make sure what we wrote factually lines up with the actual narrative of events. Only then we hit the "send" button.

*** 

PROBLEM: We said college students came up with the African animal transplant idea, when in fact it was professors that came up with it.

SOLUTION: Same as above. 

*** 

PROBLEM: We spelled the name of the store at Quick Shoppe when in fact it was Quik Shoppe, with no "c" in Quik.

SOLUTION: Same as above. We need to be precise with names. Be sure to double-check the spellings of ALL names-- whether of people or businesses or pets -- both before and after writing. 

***

PROBLEM: In one lede we said, Husband-to-be Scot Forsythe was slain in his vehicle after attempting to dodge a dog a half-mile away from where he was to be married fifteen minutes later. But slain means, killed by someone else; Forsythe died accidentally on his own. Plus, Scott has two T's, not one.

SOLUTION: Make sure the words we use correctly represent the situation and do not create an unintended change in meaning. Plus, double-check spellings of names. Close isn't close enough; we have to be dead-on.

*** 


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. You can link to the exact post right here.

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.