the art of accuracy.

Today in lecture, Katherine talked to us about the importance of accuracy and good habits we as journalists can do, to prevent inaccurate reporting. 

According to lecture, the top three causes of errors in reporting are working from memory, making assumptions and using secondhand sources. Whenever these were said, I immediately could relate to them, especially the working from memory one; I've had this temptation multiple times as a journalist. 

Whenever I covered the Jeff Mizanskey story, I had made a few phone calls for pre-interviewing. While on the phone with a source, I had asked if I could record their call. While recording the call, I had taken minimal notes because I was trying to listen intently to ask better questions. I had used my laptop to voice record the eight minute conversation. At the end of it, I thanked my source before hanging up the phone and pressing "stop" on the recording. My laptop proceeded to display the never-ending cursor. I knew I was doomed. Eventually, I had to "force quit" the document that contained the recording, resulting in the entire conversation being lost. 

At first I just sat there, staring at my laptop in panic. Then I was tempted. I remembered few things in my head that my source had said, but nothing was for certain. Before long, I found myself writing down words that I knew were said, but then filling in what I didn't know with my own words. I stared at my "source's quotes" for a bit, before I decided to delete them, recognizing the harm it could do. I ended up using only the little information I had written down before I went into my intense listening. It worked out, and I hadn't worked from memory.

I learned the danger in not only working from memory, but also in relying on a recorder versus my note-taking abilities. It wasn't wrong to record an interview, but I should have been simultaneously taking thorough notes, for instances such as this one. 

The good habits of reporting accurately are all great tips on their own, but also work more effectively when done together. For example, in this instance, I would have benefited greatly if I had followed the tip of listening carefully, asked more questions and had been transcribing my notes when I initially heard them.