ISSUE

Summer 2012

Truth in the Age of Social Media

Verifying information has always been central to the work of journalists. These days the task has taken on a new level of complexity due to the volume of videos, photos, and tweets that journalists face. It’s not only the volume that presents challenges but the sophisticated tools that make it easier than ever to manipulate information. This issue of Nieman Reports looks at how the BBC, the AP, CNN, and other news organizations are addressing questions of truth and verification.

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Articles

Features

This Land Is Their Land

Bearing witness to the fallout from the exploitation of Latin America’s natural resources
Gustavo Jononovich
July 31, 2012
Technology

The Process of Verification

RELATED ARTICLE“Finding the Wisdom in the Crowd”– Mark LittleJoin the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #NRTruthIn March, Storyful’s sources in Syria tweeted that security forces were moving through Idlib…
July 12, 2012
Live @ Lippmann

Out of His Comfort Zone

Buzz Bissinger on ambition, fear of failure, and the genesis of ‘Friday Night Lights’
Buzz Bissinger
July 10, 2012
Journalist’s Trade

And You Thought Your Newsroom Was Innovative

Across the globe, journalists are finding new ways to deliver diverse content to an increasingly mobile audience.
Adrienne LaFrance
July 10, 2012
Nieman Notes

J. Anthony Lukas Book Prizes

From left, prize winners Daniel J. Sharfstein, Jonathan M. Katz, and Sophia Rosenfeld. Jonathan Alter, right, is chairman of the J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project Committee. Photo by Lisa Abitbol.J.…
Jan Gardner
July 10, 2012
Taylor Award for Fairness
Nieman Notes

Taylor Award for Fairness

An interview with Taylor Award Winner J. Andrew Curliss
Jonathan Seitz
July 10, 2012
Nieman Notes

Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism

Every year the Nieman Foundation awards a portfolio of prizes. The winners of three major awards were celebrated this spring.
July 10, 2012
Nieman Notes

Summer 2012: Class Notes

1942Thomas Sancton, a Southern journalist who wrote articles in the 1940s advocating for racial justice, died at a nursing home in New Orleans on April 6th. He was 97.Read his…
Jan Gardner
July 10, 2012
Technology

Be Careful Who You Quote

Some nonprofits that claim to supply expert opinions are set up by spin doctors to further corporate agendas.
Stefanie Friedhoff
July 10, 2012
Taylor Award for Fairness (Extended Interview)
Nieman Notes

Taylor Award for Fairness (Extended Interview)

When J. Andrew Curliss investigated a district attorney, she attacked his work and his paper. Photo by Lisa Abitbol.To say that the subject of reporter J. Andrew Curliss’s three-part series…
Jonathan Seitz
July 10, 2012
From the Curator

Facts and Friction

Verifying information has always been central to the work of journalists. These days the task has taken on a new level of complexity due to the volume of videos, photos,…
Ann Marie Lipinski
July 9, 2012
Technology

A New Age for Truth

‘Never has it been so easy to expose an error, check a fact, crowdsource and bring technology to bear in service of verification.’
Craig Silverman
July 6, 2012
Books

Secrets and Lies

Investigating a famed Polish journalist
Paul Salopek
July 6, 2012
Features

Chaos Theory

An online pioneer challenges media companies to think differently.
Richard Gingras
July 6, 2012
Technology

Taking on the Rumor Mill

In the wake of a tornado, The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News moved swiftly to sort fact from fiction.
Katherine K. Lee
July 6, 2012
Books

The Fight of His Life

Ed Kennedy paid a high price for spreading news of the war’s end.
Bill Schiller
July 6, 2012
Books

Mr. Difficult

The personal turmoil lurking beneath the tough exterior
Stuart Watson
July 6, 2012
International Journalism

Vetting Citizen Journalism

‘It’s an emerging craft, one that combines an eye for a good story with a flair for connecting the dots and, above all, a human touch.’
Lila King
July 6, 2012
Features

After the Shouting, Bridging the Divide

‘… our newsroom has made a serious effort to forge a stronger connection between the paper and Buffalo’s black community. … Not for a moment do I believe the healing…
Margaret Sullivan
July 6, 2012
Technology

The Story That Rocked the Clock

‘With so much news breaking, just posting updates to the paper’s website suddenly felt inadequate. We needed to meet readers where they were …’
Phil Brinkman
July 6, 2012
Journalist’s Trade

Challenging ‘He Said, She Said’ Journalism

Instead of striving for balance, a veteran Supreme Court reporter asks, ‘How about truth for a goal?’
Linda Greenhouse
July 6, 2012
Technology

Doubting Amina

The biggest hoax of 2011 fooled activists and journalists alike. One writer and free speech advocate explains why so many wanted to believe in the ‘Gay Girl in Damascus.’
Jillian C. York
July 6, 2012
Technology

Finding the Wisdom in the Crowd

‘Journalists need to get comfortable with risk, transparency and collaboration. We need to abandon the notion that we have a monopoly on truth.’
Mark Little
July 6, 2012
Journalist’s Trade

Vetting Information Found Online

Members of the BBC’s User-Generated Content Hub offered tips for determining the veracity of videos and photographs:Join the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #NRTruthTry to talk to the original…
David Turner
July 6, 2012
Journalist’s Trade Technology

Inside the BBC’s Verification Hub

‘What everyone wanted to know, on Twitter and in the newsroom, was this: Was the video real or fake? That is the kind of question the [User-Generated Content] Hub is…
David Turner
July 6, 2012
Journalist’s Trade Technology

Detecting the Truth in Photos

As technologies to manipulate images grow ever more sophisticated, media organizations are using software to help determine authenticity.
Santiago Lyon
July 6, 2012
Getting it Wrong
Journalist’s Trade

Getting it Wrong

A sampling of mistakes, fabrications and manipulations.
Jonathan Seitz
July 6, 2012
Sounding

Cover Stories

A book critic in praise of the counter-narrative
Megan O’Grady
July 6, 2012
Features

Finding Strength in Numbers

Learning to use databases and mapping software has its rewards.
John Diedrich
July 3, 2012