Brief lecture on facts and opinion in news journalism

1. Finding the Truth in Journalism

2. Writing Stories & Facts vs. Opinion 1
 Stories you write are nnoott aabboouutt
yyoouu oorr yyoouurr ooppiinniioonn..
 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 aattttrriibbuutteedd ttoo
ssoouurrcceess..
 Facts do not need to be
attributed, unless they are
contested or controversial.

3. FFaacctt
Something 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?

4. FFaacctt
A fact is a statement that can be proven by direct
experience or objective verification.
Evidence may be in the form of:
The testimony of witnesses
Agreed-upon observations
The written records of such testimony and
observations
The result of research or investigation

5. 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 yyoouurr
ccrreeddiibbiilliittyy and can even lead to
lawsuits.

6. Types of Statements
 FFaacctt
IInnffeerreenncc
ee
JJuuddggmmeenntt
OOppiinniioonn

7. 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

8. FFaacctt
You 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.

9. IInnffeerreennccee
A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and
reasoning.
Similar Terms:
Deduction
Conclusion
Reasoning
Conjecture
Speculation
Guess
Presumption
Assumption
Supposition
Reckoning
Extrapolation

10. JJuuddggmmeenntt
The ability to make considered decisions or come to
sensible.
An opinion or conclusion.
Similar Terms:
Assessment
Evaluation
Appraisal
Review
Analysis
Criticism
Critique

11. OOppiinniioonnss
Usually 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?”

12. OOppiinniioonnss
Look for clue words such as:
Feel
Believe
Always
Never
None
Most
Least
Best
Worst

13. Comparison

14. News vs. Opinion

15. Finding the difference
WWrriitttteenn ssoouurrccee
It is important to distinguish between facts and opinions.
Written materials often contain both facts and opinions such as:
Articles
Web site information
Biographies
Newspapers
Being able to tell them apart will help you judge the vvaalliiddiittyy** of
a writer’s ideas.
It will also help you choose appropriate sources when doing
research.
**vvaalliidd: logically correct; justifiable; well founded in fact

16. Finding the difference
DDiirreecctt ssoouurrccee
It 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.

17. Attributions
Giving credit for a source
Naming a source, respondent, interviewee

18. Attributions
All ooppiinniioonnss mmuusstt bbee attributed to a source
All facts are bbeetttteerr if attributed to a source