A
fact checker is the person who checks factual assertions in
non-fictionNonfiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be...
al text, usually intended for publication in a
periodicalA periodical publication, or just periodical, is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar examples are the newspaper, often published daily, or weekly; or the magazine, typically published weekly, monthly or as a quarterly...
, to determine their veracity and correctness. The job requires general knowledge, but more important it requires the ability to conduct quick and accurate
researchResearch can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of...
.
The resources and time needed for fact-checking mean that this work is not done at most newspapers, where reporters' timely ability to correct and verify their own data and information is chief among their qualifications.
A
fact checker is the person who checks factual assertions in
non-fictionNonfiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be...
al text, usually intended for publication in a
periodicalA periodical publication, or just periodical, is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar examples are the newspaper, often published daily, or weekly; or the magazine, typically published weekly, monthly or as a quarterly...
, to determine their veracity and correctness. The job requires general knowledge, but more important it requires the ability to conduct quick and accurate
researchResearch can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of...
.
The resources and time needed for fact-checking mean that this work is not done at most newspapers, where reporters' timely ability to correct and verify their own data and information is chief among their qualifications. Publications issued on weekly, monthly, or infrequent bases are more likely to employ fact-checkers.
Fact-checking, known as "research" at many publications, is most critical for those publishing material written by authors who are not trained reporters — such writers being more likely to make professional, ethical, or mere factual mistakes. Fact-checking methods vary; some publications have neither the staff nor the budget needed for verifying every claim in a given article. Others will attempt just that, going so far as communicating with the authors' sources to review the content of quotations.
Also, fact-checking is distinctive to
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publications. British and European magazines and newspapers may have editors for correcting spelling and performing superficial verification, but do not employ fact-checkers as such. Typically, fact-checking is an entry-level publishing job at major magazines; fact-checker jobs at
The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry published by Condé Nast Publications...
are considered prestigious and can lead to higher-level positions, usually at other magazines.
Among the benefits of printing only checked copy is that it averts serious, sometimes costly, problems, i.e. lawsuits and
discreditationThe expression discrediting tactics in politics refers to personal attacks against a public figure intended to discourage people from believing in the figure or supporting their cause ....
. Fact checkers are primarily useful in catching accidental mistakes; they are not guaranteed safeguards against those who wish to commit journalistic frauds, such as Stephen Glass (who began his journalism career as a fact-checker). The fact checkers at
The New RepublicThe New Republic is an American magazine of politics and the arts. It is published semimonthly and has a circulation of approximately 60,000. The editor-in-chief is Martin Peretz and the current editor is Franklin Foer...
and other weeklies never flagged the numerous fictions in Glass's reportage.
Michael KellyMichael Kelly was an American editor and journalist whose career was tarnished by the Stephen Glass scandal at The New Republic. He was also a columnist for the Washington Post. He died in 2003 while covering the invasion of Iraq...
, who edited some of Glass's concocted stories, blamed himself, rather than the fact-checkers:
- "Any fact-checking system is built on trust. . . . If a reporter is willing to fake notes, it defeats the system. Anyway, the real vetting system is not fact-checking but the editor."
See also
- Copyeditor
- Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a type of reporting in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or some other scandal....
- Journalism
Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone...
- Masthead
Masthead is a list, usually found on the editorial page of a newspaper or magazine, of the members of the newspaper's editorial board. If no editorial board exists, the masthead will often feature a list of top news staff members...
- Misprint
- FactCheck.org
External links
Prominent former fact-checkers
- Ben McGrath - New Yorker staff writer
- Matthew Power - Harper's Magazine contributing editor
- Susan Choi - American novelist http://www.bookmouth.com/choi.html
- Jay McInerney
John Barrett McInerney Jr. is an American writer. His novels include Bright Lights, Big City; Ransom; Story of My Life: Brightness Falls; and The Last of the Savages...
- American novelist, wine columnist, and socialite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_McInerney
- William Gaddis
William Gaddis was an American novelist. He wrote five novels, two of which won National Book Awards.-Biography:...
- American novelist http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9035777/William-Gaddis
- Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He currently works as the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking...
- Television anchorman http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/01/lkl.01.html
- Nancy Franklin - New Yorker staff writer http://www.newyorker.com/main/contributors/?contribs_af
- Sean Wilsey
Sean Wilsey is the author of the memoir Oh the Glory of it All, which was published by Penguin in 2005. He is the son of Al Wilsey, a San Francisco businessman, and Pat Montandon, a socialite and peace activist, and the stepson of socialite and philanthropist Dede Wilsey...
- McSweeney'sMcSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers, author of the books You Shall Know Our Velocity, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, How We Are Hungry,...
Editor-at-Large and memoirist http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,0_1000066618,00.html?sym=BIO
- Roger Hodge
Roger Hodge is the editor of Harper's Magazine. Hodge attended the University of the South. He began graduate work at the New School for Social Research and completed a master's degree, but joined Harper's before finishing his dissertation. Hodge first came to Harper's as an intern in 1996 and was...
- Editor, Harper's MagazineHarper's Magazine is a monthly, general-interest magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. It is the second-oldest, continuously-published monthly magazine in the U.S.; current circulation is more than 220,000 issues...
http://www.harpers.org/RogerDHodge.html
- Esther Dyson
Esther Dyson is a journalist and commentator on emerging digital technology, a founding member of the digerati, an entrepreneur, and a philanthropist....
- technologist http://www.edventure.com/contributors/contributor.php?CFID=4047489&CFTOKEN=65704061
- David Rees
David Rees may refer to:* David Rees , a British children's author* David Rees , an American cartoonist* David Rees , a British pure mathematician* David Rees , an English rugby union footballer...
- cartoonist http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/03376476.asp
- Daniel Menaker - Former Editor-in-chief of Random House http://www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/archive/99/june99/profiles.html
- Thomas Meehan
Thomas Meehan , was a noted British-born nurseryman, botanist and author. He worked as a Kew gardener in 1846-1848, and thereafter he moved to Germantown in Philadelphia...
- Tony award-winning author of AnnieAnnie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The musical ran for nearly six years on Broadway, setting a record for the Alvin Theatre...
- David Kirkpatrick - New York Times reporter
- Virginia Heffernan
Virginia Heffernan is an American journalist. She is best-known as a television critic for The New York Times, and as "The Medium" columnist at The New York Times Magazine.-Background and education:...
- New York Times television critic http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a57.asp
- Steve Rushin
Steve Rushin is an American sportswriter. He wrote a weekly column, Air and Space, for Sports Illustrated magazine...
- Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. It has over 3 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men, 19% of the adult males in the United States. It was the first magazine with circulation over one...
columnist