DISQUS

Regret the Error: Speed versus accuracy in journalism: towards a new debate

  • jeffjarvis · 1 month ago
    Really good piece, Craig. (Thanks for the hat tips).

    If I were a copy editor laboring over and delaying this, I'd be amusing myself over your twitterable sentence (which I did, indeed, tweet):

    "Accuracy is not always an absolute." Hmm. Isn't an absolute always an absolute? Thus if it's not always an absolute it's never an absolute? Just asking.....

    See also Nick Denton saying flat out that they don't fact-check before publishing: “We aim to get the truth over time. The verification model is post-publication rather than pre-publication. Our readers correct us and we apologize and we change it. We don’t have time to check it all before.”

    http://www.observer.com/2009/media/asme-confere...
  • CraigSilverman · 1 month ago
    Thanks for the comment, Jeff. I did a strikethrough on that "always" in the absolute sentence. Nice catch. I can just imagine some of my favorite copy editors lashing me for that one. I'm happy you caught it.

    And I hadn't seen Denton's comment, which is very interesting.
  • J · 1 month ago
    It's not that I disagree, but practically speaking, it can take hours and hours to get a return call for a comment or quote. Sometimes you have to go with what you have and update with additional information later. It's particularly true in the political world, where responses can be slow in coming. With a deadline looming and still no return call or email, what does one do? Tell the boss to "hold the presses"? In real-life journalism, the ideal sometimes collides with the practical and the necessity.
  • CraigSilverman · 1 month ago
    Thanks for your comment. I don't think we disagree at all, and your point is valid. For your scenario, my post is suggesting that the reporter and editor should think about whether or not it's essential that the story be published without that additional information. Is speed really important for that specific story, or would it be okay to wait for the callback? It's about having that conversation and making a conscious decision.