User Comments

1. 

   9/14/07

   bnsullivan

   Depends on what you are blogging about.
   
   On my three aviation news blogs I often hold off on a story until I have multiple sources that provide convergent info -- and even then I'm very careful with wording, saying stuff like "it has been reported that..." or "according to [so and so]...".
   
   For serious stuff -- about plane crashes or safety incidents, for example -- I sometimes wait for an 'official' (FAA, NTSB, etc.) statement or report -- or I quote news stories, but then follow up when the official report comes out and link to that.
   
   So yes, I try to check facts, because I am attempting to report news and information to my readers, not hearsay. If it's hearsay, I identify it as such.

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   1. 

      9/14/07

      jobquitter

      I agree, and try to present facts in the same way. (My blog isn't about facts, so I don't worry about it.)
      
      But I think Kimmel makes a fool of himself when he speaks about a "gossip rag" on the internet and expects it to hold itself up to journalistic standards (coming from CNN, that's a joke). What other information from the internet does he trust blindly?
   2. 

      9/14/07

      Norski

      "I saw it on the Web?"
2. 

   9/14/07

   cooper

   Well Gawker is a gossip rag so there ya go, no different than National Enquirer.
   
   People who are blogging are responsible for making clear that what they write is opinion.
   
   I think that Gawker is walking a fine line when they make things up.

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3. 

   9/14/07

   clioandme

   As Bobbie says, it depends on what you are blogging about. If you purport to be offering facts or professional advice or something related, hold yourself to high standards and provide sources.

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   1. 

      9/14/07

      Norski

      ditto
4. 

   9/14/07

   Norski

   I'm pretty much with bnsullivan on this.
   
   Addressing the statement, "'You post things that simply aren't true on the site and you do no checking on your stories whatsoever.'
   
   It sounds to me that Kimmel doesn't know what blogging is about."
   
   I believe that the "what blogging is about" phrase is too broad.
   
   Some bloggers blithely post their opinions, dreams, and (quite possibly) hallucinations as fact. Why check for accuracy? They know they're right, and if you question what they say, you're one of THEM!!
   
   Others are do the same sort of posting, but acknowledge that what they write is imaginary.
   
   And so on.
   
   When I post something as 'real' - that is, present something as a phenomenon which actually exists outside my imagination - I make an effort to verify what I say, generally through news media, public documents, or, the the case of quotations, reference to a source close to the original statement.
   
   It's a little time-consuming, but I think it's worthwhile. Particularly since I occasionally make statements that don't quite fit what established people and institutions want to be true.
   
   So, yes: verification is important. And it doesn't take a research staff to do so. I can look up news, documents, anything online, in minutes, using Google and some directories. A background as a researcher and professional writer doesn't hurt.
   
   Even fiction benefits, I think, from research: consider the hapless writer who wrote a tale set in the Red River or the North, and described the snow-capped mountains north of Fargo.

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5. 

   9/14/07

   greentalk

   I agree with bnsullivan above too. I write about green building products and feel I have a responsibility to my readers to be accurate. There is so much information on the web which is not true or you have no way of knowing who their sources are. I will go to 2 or 3 different website with the same exact language and wonder where did they all get the same paragraph? I also try and footnote to sources so readers can check it out themselves or do what bnsullivan said with words such as "according" etc. It is hard, and very time consuming.
   
   Norski-which sources do you like best to fact check. I am not a professional writer and am new at writing a blog. I might be spending too much time fact checking when there are better sources out there to use. Your help would be much appreciated. anna www.green-talk.com

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6. 

   9/14/07

   PetLvr

   Blogging about celebrities is based on a "picture is a thousand words" concept. If you believe what you read in a gossip site or magazine .. you are an idiot. And, I guess the millions and millions of people out there who read them are idiots. Like me. Like you.
   
   But .. shouldn't the real story behind the article really be.... Does Jimmy Kimmel always look drunk when he is out on the town in public? .. or not?

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7. 

   9/15/07

   MadameX

   I think if something is presented as fact, the author should have a reasonable certainty that it's a fact. No, there aren't editors and fact-checkers and maybe there isn't the issue of professional responsibility you see in news reporting, but "don't make shit up" is a good rule no matter what the context.
   
   That doesn't place any obligation to do heavy research on a blogger--only the obligation to call conjecture conjecture and opinion opinion.

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