Case Study 7

The story about Jimmy’s World shocks me. I cannot believe that it went to print and that so many people believed it. While I was reading the story, I questioned it the whole time. The confidence with which Jimmy speaks does not seem appropriate for an eight year old. How can he have such a strong personality? How can he know so much about the “real world”? To me, it seemed unreal. I also could not believe that Janet Cooke could watch Ron inject the little boy and sit there through it. Also, the family was acting too casually in front of her. Why did they even agree to show a reporter what they were doing illegally? All of these details should have immediately raised a red flag.

This incident brings up valuable points--Editors need to be skeptical, and they need to follow their hunches. An editor cannot let a story run without verifying the facts. He or she needs to investigate the story for himself, make phone calls and question the reporter about details to detect any discrepancies. Reporters should always reveal the identity of sources to editors to confirm the facts. Also, editors should examine stories from a logical perspective and ask themselves: Does this make sense? Is this possible?

Ultimately, accuracy relies on lack of trust. Editors  should never trust a reporter based on reputation or amount of experience.  If an editor has a bad feeling about certain story, he or she should speak up or show it to other editors for a second opinion. Editors need to serve as radars for lie detection.