Mantra from Manti Te’o story: Trust but verify

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Emilie Davis

This post was written, initially, for my advanced editing class blog. There are a lot of lessons to be learned, especially as you start your internships. The reference to the skeptical editing process? Check out Think Like an Editor, Strategy 18: Skeptical Editing: Ask Key Questions Graph by Graph
 ~ prof emilie

That’s the advice from The New York Times on the hoax-related story involving Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o: Trust but verify.

In her column, public editor Margaret Sullivan shares reactions from the Times sports editor, Joe Sexton:

I could never imagine in editing such a story, with the references existing as they did, asking the reporters: Do you know for a fact his grandmother is dead? Do you know for a fact his girlfriend is dead? Do you know for a fact his grandmother existed? Do you know for a fact his girlfriend ever existed? And any editor who tells you they would have or should have asked those questions is kidding you.

There are many layers to this story, and it’s a good one to follow closely. All of you already know a lot about skeptical editing and the formal process it entails. Start thinking about the kinds of questions you would ask about this story – even now that the hoax has been revealed as having been played on the player.

prof emilie

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Good Luck on Your First Day at Your Internship

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Emilie Davis

During your journalism career — any career — you’ll be faced with some “firsts.”

The first day on the job. The first time you meet your supervisor. The first time you land a great story. The first time you make a mistake.

Here are some tips for navigating the workplace, especially in today’s evolving newsrooms, where you will be expected to know more and to do more as multijob journalists.

  • Be proactive. Don’t wait for your first assignment. Have some ideas ready to share, based on your beat or the topic area you have been assigned to cover. Are you a general assignment reporter? Great. You’ll have even more ideas to pitch.
  • Be a good listener. You’ll be getting a lot of information and instructions from many people within your organization. Listen carefully. Take notes as needed. Repeat what you thought you heard. If you are not sure, ask.
  • Be real. What does that mean? Be yourself. Be confident, but not so self-assured that you miss something important. You’ll know a lot going in to your internship; you should know even more coming out.

As you get started at your internship, remember to scan the Table of Contents in “Think Like an Editor: 50 Strategies for the Print and Digital World” and stop on the ones that apply to you at any given time.

  • Need to come up with ideas? There’s a strategy for that. Strategy 3: Enterprise: How to Come Up with Good Story Ideas
  • Ready to write after you report? There’s a strategy for that. Strategy 7: See the Big Picture: How to Answer, “What’s the Story?”
  • Ready to edit someone else’s work? There are strategies for that. Part II, Work Like an Editor, is devoted to editing the story and includes separate strategies on style, grammar, spelling, punctuation, accuracy, fairness, balance, libel and more.
  • Make a mistake? It happens. But know what to do next — who handles corrections, what that person needs to know and what the corrections policy is at your news organization.

Check out the Think Like an Editor blog regularly at thinklikeaneditor.net for more tips, advice and sharing of timely issues.

Remember, too, to share your experiences from time to time by posting to this class blog.

Good luck at your internships and enjoy all the excitement of planning, discussing, covering, editing and presenting the many stories your magazines, newspapers and websites will publish.

prof emilie
@profemilie

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