Every country has news consumers—and news avoiders—who are media illiterate. OJ-UGANDA’s media literacy section exists to change that. Follow along.
News is arguably journalism’s most popular product. This is part of the reason new news sites keep coming, all competing for the attention of news consumers.
But many people reading news rarely pay attention to how it is reported. For many, the headline is enough—and is more important than what is under it. They read, share and move on.
Even people who have read news for many years may struggle to tell the difference between a deeply reported and obsessively verified news story and one that is not.
In this Media Literacy article, we look at news reporting that ticks all the boxes and assures readers that they can trust what they are reading.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OUR READERS OFTEN ASK
The first thing reporters at credible, well-established news outlets do is to tell readers the source of the information they are reporting. The source/sources can be cited in the very first paragraph, or the intro/lede.
In this story, for example, which says that Rwandan president Paul Kagame criticised churches for exploiting vulnerable people, the German broadcaster DW is cited as the source of the information.
This attribution makes it very clear that while the journalist reporting the story is not based in Rwanda, they are relying on a credible source on the ground.
Sometimes reporters cite police sources, government or department officials—or trusted anonymous sources. And they explain why those sources have to remain anonymous.
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A story that says “43 people have been killed in a road accident” may be followed by “police have said.” Similarly, one that says “The government is introducing new national identity cards” may be followed by “the Internal Affairs ministry has said”.
Both stories attribute what they are reporting to people from whom they got the information. They make it clear that the reporter is not expressing an opinion; they are reporting a fact.
And this provides a perfect segue to the second and one of the key elements a news story should have: multiple sources (depending on what is being reported) and quotes.
A news story that lacks quotes supporting its headline is a profound professional failure.
If, for example, a cabinet minister says they are going to resign, journalists cite the minister’s exact words (read: quotes) that show readers the minister is indeed planning to resign.
It is the only thing that can convince the reader of the veracity of what is being reported. Without quotes, the story lends itself to being dismissed as fake news.
A third element is precision. This example from a 2015 New York Times story about a former US Secretary of State using her personal email account while doing official work hammers the point home:
Hillary Rodham Clinton exclusively used a personal email account to conduct government business as secretary of state, State Department officials said, and may have violated federal requirements that officials’ correspondence be retained as part of the agency’s record.
The sentence uses the word “exclusively” for precision. If Clinton had occasionally or sometimes used a personal account, the story would not have been as important. “Exclusively” means she used only a private account for all official business.
Precision is oxygen in journalism. It helps readers understand scale, intent and context. It protects the reporter from overstating or understating the facts.
The fourth element is the name of the reporter, or byline, as it is called in journalism. It adds credibility in reporting. In some news organisations, a news story cannot be published without a reporter’s name.
This list is by no means comprehensive—but it captures the most important elements of news reporting.
🔴 If you care about truth, credibility and understanding how journalism really works, media literacy is essential. Follow OJ-UGANDA’s media literacy section to sharpen your news sense and separate fact from fiction. Media literacy is your weapon against misinformation, manipulation and media distrust.
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