News Literacy
As a journalist, it is my job to report the truth. When researching for my luxury tax opinion piece, I went to several different websites to find information. I even did my own math to double check information based on prices from Walmart, a major shopping center. I took into account both the cheapest menstrual product as well as the most expensive. I then went to the main protesting website and fact checked the information I was using with reliable sources, such as the New York Times.
One way we avoid slander is that every interview must be recorded and then transcribed onto a google document, where the caption or story can be written below it and shared with The Wildcat’s google drive. This allows me and other staff members make sure we listen closely to what was said in the interview and not put in our own opinions. This also protects us in case a student is upset with something that we quoted them on. We can play the recordings from their interviews and help them realize we did accurately quote them.
Bias can turn a great article into an unreliable and therefore useless one. To help the staff and I avoid bias, I stress the importance of interviewing a wide variety of students. Since our school is relatively diverse, it is extremely important to represent all ethnic backgrounds in our photos, stories, and captions. We also strive to get equal representation of classes in the book. That way, sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be happy when the book is released. Another bias we watch out for is gender. While on some spreads it is unavoidable, such as football and volleyball, we generally focus on getting equal representation for both genders. One way we avoid bias is by not allowing the staff to interview friends for stories, unless they are on or involved in the subject of the story. Another way we do this is by sending out google surveys. This allows us to see which students have a strong opinion on a certain subject or owns a certain item. From the google survey, we can poll a greater number of students at once, and the staff can’t pick their friends to interview. It is important that we watch out for and avoid these biases as best we can, because it is our job as a yearbook to accurately portray the year, not just one version of it.
One way we avoid slander is that every interview must be recorded and then transcribed onto a google document, where the caption or story can be written below it and shared with The Wildcat’s google drive. This allows me and other staff members make sure we listen closely to what was said in the interview and not put in our own opinions. This also protects us in case a student is upset with something that we quoted them on. We can play the recordings from their interviews and help them realize we did accurately quote them.
Bias can turn a great article into an unreliable and therefore useless one. To help the staff and I avoid bias, I stress the importance of interviewing a wide variety of students. Since our school is relatively diverse, it is extremely important to represent all ethnic backgrounds in our photos, stories, and captions. We also strive to get equal representation of classes in the book. That way, sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be happy when the book is released. Another bias we watch out for is gender. While on some spreads it is unavoidable, such as football and volleyball, we generally focus on getting equal representation for both genders. One way we avoid bias is by not allowing the staff to interview friends for stories, unless they are on or involved in the subject of the story. Another way we do this is by sending out google surveys. This allows us to see which students have a strong opinion on a certain subject or owns a certain item. From the google survey, we can poll a greater number of students at once, and the staff can’t pick their friends to interview. It is important that we watch out for and avoid these biases as best we can, because it is our job as a yearbook to accurately portray the year, not just one version of it.