NewsTrust Review Help
If you have technical questions about this survey, please click here.
Here are a few tips on how to answer questions in our review tool. We are testing different versions of our review tool, so your questionnaire may only include some of the questions below. Required questions are marked with an asterisk (*) and must be answered to complete the survey.
Q: How much new information did you get from this story?
This question assesses how much you personally learned from this story, compared to what you knew before, or compared to other similar stories you may have seen or heard.
Q: How well does this story back its points with factual evidence?
This question refers to whether the right sources are quoted (authoritative quotes, appropriate statistics, documents,
etc.), to support the assertions in the headline and lead paragraphs (i.e., the principal generalizations the story makes).
Expert sources whose view might not be influenced by a stake in the event or issue are particularly valuable; they help
move reporting beyond "he said/she said" counterclaims that can leave readers confused. Documents and statistics
often provide more compelling evidence for a generalization than statements by individuals. Multiple sources of evidence
strengthen the support.
Q: How well does this story identify its sources?
This question refers to the level of care the reporter takes to inform
readers about where the information came from (clearly indicating and
naming sources, explaining why a source may have been granted anonymity
and providing some identifying information to help the
reader/viewer assess credibility). As a rule, all sources should be
named, including other news organizations. When a source cannot be
named, readers are owed an explanation of why. Reporters should also
provide as much information short of identification to permit the
reader to assess the credibility of an unnamed source. Readers have a
right to know how the story was gathered including any unconventional
means. Surveys should indicate whether the approach was scientific –
based
on random selection of respondents – and describe the margins of error,
sample size and response rate.
Q: How well does this story seek out diverse sources?
This question explores the level of inclusiveness in choosing sources who provide diversity along gender, race/ethnicity, class (socio-economic status), etc. How you see the world depends on where you stand.
Q: How credible are this story's sources?
This question helps us evaluate whether the sources cited in this story can be trusted to provide reliable information. Are those sources qualified to provide information based on special expertise, or unique knowledge of the facts?
Q: How fair is this story?
Journalists are expected to present fairly all sides of a controversy. Note this doesn't necessarily mean equal space for all sides. The space allotted to each side should be based on the evidence for its claims and its willingness to respond. Each relevant side, however, should be afforded the opportunity to make its core argument, or decline comment.
Q: How well does this story represent all important viewpoints?
This question probes whether one or more important sides to the event or issue are missing or given less space than they deserve. In general, the more perspectives a story includes, the fuller the
picture of reality it provides. Note that most news stories only have
room for the core arguments each side makes, rather than their complete
point of view.
Q: How well does this story seek out facts, rather than opinions?
This question helps us evaluate whether the story places facts over opinions. Are any opinions presented here as facts?
Q: How accurate is this story?
Here we evaluate how closely the description of events and issues in this story matches reality as you know it. When assessing a story's accuracy, be sure to review both its sources and the journalist's statements. How well do they square with the reality you observed, what other media reported or what you already know about this topic? In most cases, you may not be able to judge the accuracy of quoted material. But if you happen to know a quote is off, that would inform your judgment of the overall accuracy of the reporting. If you don't have access to these resources, select "not sure". Don't rate the story merely on plausibility.
Q: How clear is this story?
This question assesses the overall clarity of the story. Is it well presented and easy to understand?
Q: How original is this story?
Here we evaluate the originality of this story's news coverage and/or interpretation. Is the journalist providing original information here, or merely repeating what others have written about this topic?
Q: How well does this story help you see the "big picture"?
This question asks how well the story provides context by seeking answers to questions the public most needs to know about this issue or event. "Big picture" reporting that asks about causes, effects, solutions and trends, rather than describing a particular episode, such as a shooting, fire or accident, is also more helpful for this key sense-making function of news. This question also examines how carefully the reporter explains unfamiliar terms and processes for the average reader.
Q: How do you rate the overall quality of this story? *
This required question sums up your overall evaluation of this story, based on its journalistic quality. We're not asking here whether you agree with the story, or whether you think it's entertaining. We want to know if you think this story was prepared according to the highest journalistic principles, such as accuracy, fairness, credibility and originality. Write your comments below, to explain why you gave it that rating.
Q: How important is this topic?
This question focuses on the importance of the topic or subject of the story, from the standpoint of informing citizens so they can participate in local, state and national government. Stories covering topics such as the lives of celebrities, sports news, fender-benders and purely human interest stories generally are not as helpful to people in making sense of the world around them as are stories covering politics, government, education, crime, science, military actions, economics, social trends, etc. Another way to judge the importance of a story's topic is to ask yourself how many people are affected by the topic of this story? tens? thousands? millions? billions?
Q: How much did you know about this topic? *
Before reading this story, how much information did you have on this subject? This knowledge could be specific to the event or issue, or more general – perhaps familiarity with other similar topics.
About NewsTrust
In recent years, the consolidation of mainstream media, combined with the rise of opinion news and the explosion of new media outlets, have created a serious problem for democracy: many people feel they can no longer trust the news media to deliver the information they need to make decisions about our democracy.
To address this critical issue, NewsTrust is developing an online social network to help people identify quality journalism – or "news you can trust." Our members will rate the news online, based on journalistic quality, rather than popularity or ideology. Our free website and email feed will feature the best and the worst news of the day, selected from thousands of blogs and mainstream media.
We're a non-profit, non-partisan online community of citizens like you. NewsTrust is led by Fabrice Florin, a former journalist and a digital media pioneer at Apple and Macromedia. Our team includes award-winning journalist and media executive Rory O'Connor and former Lucasfilm product manager David Fox. Founded in 2005 and based in Mill Valley, California, NewsTrust is funded through grants and private donations and sponsored by The Global Center, an educational foundation based in Manhattan.
For more info, visit our site.
About This Survey
This survey is a collaboration between NewsTrust and Michigan State University. The purpose of this research is to learn how people rate news stories, and to develop reliable online review tools for our community. The results of this survey will be posted on the NewsTrust site in January 2006.
This survey ends Wednesday, December 21st, 2005 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. You must be at least 18 years old to participate. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you may drop out at any time.
If you have any questions about this survey, please email surveys@newstrust.net. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of this survey, you may contact the principal investigator at Michigan State University at the address below:
Cliff Lampe, Ph.D., 419 Communication Arts Building, East Lansing, MI 48824 – Tel: (517) 355-8372, Fax: (517) 355-8373, Email: lampecli@msu.edu. Further concerns about this survey can be addressed with the Michigan State University institutional review board: Peter Vasilenko, Ph.D., Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS): 202 Olds Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824 – Tel: (517) 355-2180, Fax: (517) 432-4503, Email: ucrihs@msu.edu
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