Fact Based Journalism is the Only Journalism
Why distinguish between fact based and non-fact based journalism? To me there is one type of journalism: That based on facts. Any writing based on something other than facts is commentary, which is also nice to read. But why call it journalism when it’s not? Of course not all journalism is factual. Journalists often make mistakes. But most good ones work hard to be factual and if they get things wrong, they retract.
My favorite graduate school professor was old school. He’d reported for the Associated Press for years and believed that every interview must be conducted in person. (Yep, no phone interviews, no email interviews.) So when our China Reporting class went to Hong Kong and I reported for the San Jose Mercury News on Hong Kong’s housing crisis, my professor insisted that I visit the homes of anyone I quoted. He reasoned that how could I truly know if people lived in awful and cramped conditions unless I saw the house myself?
Our professor wanted all data to be confirmed from the first source. So, even if the AP reported that 200 people remain missing from Christchurch New Zealand’s earthquake, we were to track down the original report, and then quote from that. Any quote not given to you directly was off limits. And if the quote was from a press release, then say so.
Does this approach take things too far? For daily news, daily blogging and for writing news features, profiles and Q&A interviews for clients at VisionPoint Marketing, much of this is tricky to execute. But here is how some old-school journalism tricks helps deliver to your client some memorable and compelling content:
- Phone interviews are fine. But by meeting with the main source at least you are more likely to gain some warm, candid and memorable quotes. I find that people’s responses are too short, guarded and rehearsed sounding via email. I use this as a last resort.
- By visiting the subject at their home or office, you see their environment. You might learn that not only is the subject a consumer behavior marketing expert, they are a hobby painter. This can become descriptive color for the narrative lead and throughout the piece.
- By actually sending a writer from your marketing agency to a conference or some other client event distinguishes your agency from others who might not think (or want) to do such things. People notice and do comment.
- And by verifying data, by having your sources confirm their quotes and how you have written about them and their work, by carefully fact checking, the sense of pride when the story publishes is huge. Not only is the writing entertaining and informative, it looks great for your client. It’s also true.