It's More About Feeling Than Fact

Evan Gallagher

evang4688@gmail.com

Over the course of the past five years, concern of journalistic credibility has hit an all time high. However, it's not just about reporting on whether a story is true; there's also the issue of whether a story is believed to be opinion or not.

Of course, the term "fake news" keeps getting thrown around social media, TV, and even on publication's websites. News organizations are fighting hard to combat it, but opinion has emerged as another battle to conquer.

With the influx of information of a single story coming from multiple sources, they can, at times, be conflated into a publication's opinion. When this happens, people will take this as their own.

Take coverage from CNN of the January 6th insurrection. While this story has many facts that are being reported about it, their opinion journalists have repeatedly said that Trump had intentionally attempted a coup.

Credit: Brent Stirton, Getty Images

Whether this is a fact remains to be determined, as we cannot know what was in Trump's head at the time. What we do know, however, is that this take is an opinion and can be perceived as fact.

I think part of conflating opinion with fact comes out of not looking clearly at sources, and going by what he said/she said.

In the SPJ Code of Ethics, it's clearly stated that journalists must identify their sources with clarity: "The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.

When there is a clear list of sources available, individuals, institutions, etc. can verify the information so they know what is fact. Problem is, many everyday people are not concerned with the sources.

Within the fact and opinion issue comes the degree to which information is investigated and covered. Damages to celebrities' reputation can result in bad PR, for example.

In the world of TMZ and People Magazine, anyone who's anyone can get the scoop on a famous movie star's pregnancy or marriage, and that information is more delicate than people perceive.

Someone's image can come down to hear-say, and words put in an article help to paint that image. So, if there is an opinion thrown into said article, it could be used in the story with risk of conflation.

Of course, many publications recognize this, which is why they have teams set up to deal with these sorts of issues. Looking at USA today, for example, they have a page dedicated to fact-checking so that they alleviate some of the concern for bad PR: USA Today Fact Check.

Fact is, indeed, a broad term that often needs to be elaborated on. If journalistic credibility is going to survive, it's up to the publications to ensure their sources make their way to the forefront.