The investigative process by which a news organization gathers, assesses, confirms and weighs evidence in service to the search for truth.

The investigative process by which a news organization gathers, assesses, confirms and weighs evidence in service to the search for truth.

Acronym used in the course to stand for Verification, Independence, and Accountability. Reliable information has all three of these characteristics.

Events as they actually happened, phenomena as they actually exist, the universe as it actually exists, independent of what we have so far been able to learn of it. The term stands in contrast to Scie [..]

When reporters share how they know what they know, what they don’t know and why.

The process of securing public notice with information designed to enhance the image of a person or product.

Information, ideas or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution or nation. It is often biased and misleading, in order to promote an ideology or point of [..]

Protects your right to publish court testimony, police reports or other public documents, even if they contain falsehoods. This is because the public has the privilege to review the contents of govern [..]

Timely information of some public interest that is shared and subject to a journalistic process of verification and for which an independent individual or organization is directly accountable.

A journalist’s primary mission is to inform the public while employing journalistic methods such as verification to uphold journalistic values in order to maintain independence and accountability.