Accuracy in Journalism

Accuracy is essential in any writing that will be viewed and read by anyone other than the author. Nothing will torpedo a career faster than copy that is unreadable because it is full of errors.

In the old days the journalist would find the story and often phone his copy into a copy editor who would write it down and then pass it on to the editor. As a result many sets of eyes saw the article before it hit the news stand. If the writer or copy editor didn't know how to spell a word there were always a dictionary or two around to find out how to spell the words correctly. These days there are few copy editors and with spell checkers around no one has to look up the words the computer does it for you.

As for the factual information on the content of the article, it is even more essential to check for accuracy and correctness. Just because someone else wrote it down does not mean that the information is always right. As someone who got caught up in misinformation on a press release I learned to check the facts whenever possible. There are always times when time constraints will prohibit double checking the facts. If the accuracy of any information is in question, it is better not to print whatever it is.

Correct grammar is always a touchy subject. What English teachers call correct grammar is not always the best way to put it in an article. Journalism instructors say write the way you talk. This is fine to a point. The remark presupposes that the writer can speak reasonably good English in the first place. For Americans good Englsih is American English not that which is often referred to as the Queen's English. Good writing grammar includes no incomplete or run on sentences, not mixing verb tenses, and proper punctuation. In this computer age many spell checkers also include grammar checkers. As the saying goes when in doubt look it up.

As with any group of like people it only takes a few bad ones to give the entire group a bad reputation. Whether the writer be a paid professional or a non paid citizen journalist accuracy of spelling, grammar, and especially information is an absolute essential for any article be it editorial, blog, or news article.

The best way to improve the accuracy of any article by any writer is to check and double check every aspect of the article before turning it in to an editor or posting it online. If the writer is unsure of proofreading his or her own work then ask someone else to look it over. Reading an article out loud can also help to catch errors. Things that may look ok when written down will sound different when read out loud.