351 lecture_9

• Take-home style exam
• Submitted on
Turnitin.com
Midterm • Available November 2
Exam
• Due November 8
• Short answer and essay
on material presented
up to Week 6.
• Study guide now online

Says Who?

Critical Evaluation
of Sources interviewed
for News Reports

Smart Questions About Sources:
ü What is her/his self-interest?
ü Does anyone else say so?
ü Is it veriﬁed fact, or assertion?
ü How would this source know?
ü Who, exactly, is this source?

What Are the Consequences
When The Press Gets it Wrong?

U.S. Invades Iraq to Capture WMD

Why Critical Thinking About Sources Matters

To Be Fair…

"Saddam
Hussein
has
spent
the
be1er
part

of
this
decade,
and
much
of
his
na7on's

wealth,
not
on
providing
for
the
Iraqi
people,

but
on
developing
nuclear,
chemical
and

biological
weapons
and
the
missiles
to

deliver
them."

President
Clinton,
Jan.
27,
1998.

To Be Fair…

"Iraq
is
a
long
way
from
[here],
but

what
happens
there
ma1ers
a
great

deal
here.
For
the
risks
that
the
leaders

of
a
rogue
state
will
use
nuclear,

chemical
or
biological
weapons
against

us
or
our
allies
is
the
greatest
security

threat
we
face."

Madeleine
Albright,
Feb.
18,
1998.

To Be Fair…

"Fateful
decisions
will
be
made
in
the
days

and
weeks
ahead.
At
issue
is
nothing
less
than

the
fundamental
ques7on
of
whether
or
not
we

can
keep
the
most
lethal
weapons
known
to

mankind
out
of
the
hands
of
an
unreconstructed

tyrant
and
aggressor
…”

Sen.
Joe
Biden
(D,
DE),
Feb.
12,
1998

To Be Fair…

"He
will
use
those
weapons
of
mass

destruc7on
again,
as
he
has
ten
7mes
since

1983."

Sandy
Berger,

Clinton
Na7onal
Security
Adviser,

Feb.
18,
1998

“The problematic articles varied in authorship and subject
matter, but many shared a common feature. They
depended at least in part on information from a circle of
Iraqi informants, defectors and exiles bent on ‘regime
change’ in Iraq, people whose credibility has come under
increasing public debate in recent weeks.”
May
26,
2004

Today: Five Smart Questions About
Sources:

üWhat is her/his self-interest?
üDoes anyone else say so?
üIs it fact, or assertion?
üHow would this source know?
üWho, exactly, is this source?

Judging the Reliability of Sources
Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources

Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources

Sources Who Verify Are Better Than Sources Who Assert

Authoritative/Informed Sources Are Better Than Uninformed Sources

Named Sources Are Better Than Unnamed Sources

(Mnemonic Device: I’M VAIN)


Independent Sources
Are Better Than
Self-Interested Sources

Self Interest vs. Selfishness
Intellectual

Religion/poli7cs Familial/Roman7c

Financial

A Self-interested
source…

Independence: Rival Praises Finding
Decoded
DNA
Reveals
Details
Of
Black
Death
Germ
Scien/sts
have
used
DNA
lurking
inside
the
teeth
of

medieval
Black
Death
vic/ms
to
ﬁgure
out
the
en/re

gene/c
code
of
the
deadly
bacterium
that
swept

across
Europe
more
than
600
years
ago,
killing
an

es/mated
half
of
the
popula/on...

The
Natural
History
Museum
of
Denmark's
Thomas

Gilbert
is
one
of
the
scien/sts
who
tried
to
ﬁnd
plague

DNA
in
Black
Death
vic/ms
in
the
past
without

success.
He
says
the
new
technique
used
in
this
study

is
exci/ng
and
the
analysis
is
compelling.
"It's
a
great

result.
It
looks
very,
very
convincing,"
Gilbert
says.

"There's
no
reason
why
the
data
shouldn't
be
real."

NYT
–
(October
13,
2011)
People
with
eaFng
disorders
like

anorexia
have
this
source

self-‐interested? in
the
insurance

How
is
opened
up
a new
baKleground

wars,
tesFng
hat
boundaries
of
laws
s
unreliable?
Does
tthe
mean
the
story
i mandaFng
equivalent

coverage
for
mental
illnesses.

Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources

Independence: A Ruthless Standard


Multiple Sources
Are Better Than
Single Sources

Multiple Sources vs. Lone Source

Multiple Sources Trump a Lone Source?

Reconstructing the Blackwater
Incident in Nusoor Square

In Pursuit of Truth
Blackwater shooting


Sources Who Verify
Are Better Than
Sources Who Assert

Verifying or Asserting?
The
Tokyo
ci/zens’
group…in

consulta/on
with
the
Yokohama-‐based

Isotope
Research
Ins/tute,
collected
soil

samples
from
near
their
own
homes.

Some
of
the
results
were
shocking:
the

sample
that
Mr.
Hayashida
collected

under
shrubs
near
his
neighborhood

baseball
ﬁeld
in
the
Edogawa
ward

measured
nearly
138,000
becquerels

per
square
meter
of
radioac/ve
cesium

137,
which
can
damage
cells
and
lead
to

an
increased
risk
of
cancer.

Sources Who Verify vs.
Sources Who Assert

A Corollary to Last Week’s Lesson:

Just Like We
Always ask:
“Did the Reporter
Open the Freezer?”
You can also ask”
“Did the Source
Open the Freezer?


Authoritative/Informed Sources
Are Better Than
Un-informed Sources

Authoritative vs.
Uninformed

Authoritative/Informed Sources vs. Un-informed Sources


Named Sources
Are Better Than
Unnamed Sources

Who Was ‘Deep Throat’?

The Most Famous Unnamed Source in History

Characterizing Unnamed Sources

Vaccines are Dangerous?
Sez Who?

Evaluating Anonymous Sources

Transparency
Characterization
Corroboration (evidence/sources)

Key Lesson:

Evaluate Sources
Evaluate Sources
Evaluate Sources

Evaluate Sources
To Find Reliable Information
With Which You:
Make a decision
Take Action
Make a judgment

Preparing to Deconstruct the News

1) What Do I Know?
2) How Do I Know It?
3) What Don’t I Know?

351 lecture_9

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