Primary Sources in the Digital Age: How Access to Documentation Enhances Credibility (The News Literacy Project)

Primary Sources
in the Digital Age:
How Access to Documentation Enhances Credibility
Fernando Diaz
Managing editor
Hoy
April 8, 2014

Segment Overview
Essential questions:
III. How can students know what to believe?
IV. What challenges and opportunities do
the Internet and digital media create?

Primary Source: Original materials—
i.e. unaltered, unfiltered documents,
objects or information created during a
particular event or time.
Primary Sources

Primary Source: Original materials—
i.e. unaltered, unfiltered documents,
objects or information created during a
particular event or time.
Primary sources are “the raw
materials of history” and provide direct
evidence about their subject or period.
(Library of Congress)
Primary Sources

Journalists use primary sources as
the foundation of fact-based news
reports.
Primary Sources

Journalists use primary sources as
the foundation of fact-based news
reports.
o Locate and obtain
o Review, evaluate and sort
o Place key pieces of information in
context with information from
other sources
Primary Sources

Primary Source:
– Government reports
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Government reports (budgets,
program data, statistics, reports,
birth certificates, etc.)
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Court records
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Court records (criminal records,
lawsuits, liens, etc.)
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Court records
– School records
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Court records
– School records (program data,
graduation rates, test scores,
budgets, etc.)
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Court records
– School records
– Tax records
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Court records
– School records
– Tax records
– Police reports
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Court records
– School records
– Tax records
– Police reports (criminal and
accident records, investigations)
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– People:
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– People:
• Eyewitnesses
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– People:
• Eyewitnesses
• Directly involved in an incident/event
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– People:
• Eyewitnesses
• Directly involved in an incident/event
• Public officials
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Others:
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Others:
• Video and audio recordings
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Others:
• Phone records and voicemail
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Others:
• Photographs/images
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Primary Source:
– Others:
• Photographs/images
• Emails or letters
Primary Sources in
Journalism

Print vs. Digital
Digital
• Longer reports
• Video
• Picture galleries
• Primary sources:
o Documents
o Video
o Audio
o Data
repositories

Transparency
Providing access to primary
sources increases the transparency
of a news report.

Tell us…
Chat question:
Why is it important for news
organizations to be transparent?
How does transparency increase
credibility?

Big Takeaways
• Primary sources are original, often “raw”
materials;

Big Takeaways
materials;
• Journalists use primary sources as the
foundation of fact-based news reports;

Big Takeaways
materials;
• Primary sources are not the same as journalism;

Big Takeaways
materials;
• Giving the public access to the primary sources
used in a report increases transparency and
therefore credibility;

Big Takeaways
materials;
• Giving the public access to the primary sources
used in a report increases transparency and
therefore credibility;
• An increasing amount of raw data and other
information is available online.

Data Tools You Can Use
https://nycopendata.socrata.com/

https://data.cityofchicago.org/

http://octo.dc.gov/DC/

Primary Sources in the Digital Age: How Access to Documentation Enhances Credibility (The News Literacy Project)

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