You can't believe everything you click on.
The Internet is a great source of information — and also of disinformation. It seems harder than ever to know the true source of what we're reading and whether the information is accurate and reliable.
Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, former journalists and longtime media observers and analysts, have written a guide to help curious readers: Blur: How to Know What's True in the Age of Information Overload.
Their aim is to teach consumers the techniques that skeptical journalists have used for decades to gauge the reliability of information they collect. Some examples of the questions they tell readers to ask themselves: Is the information complete? If not, what's missing? Who or what are the sources and why should I believe them? What evidence is presented and how was it tested or vetted?
Kovach and Rosenstiel will be interviewed at Town Hall tonight (Dec. 16) by Mike Fancher, former executive editor of The Seattle Times and a media scholar who is among many leading discussions about the future of journalism. Fancher has some history with the authors, having led discussions in Washington, D.C., last year about their 2001 book, The Elements of Journalism.
This conversation should be a stimulating one, not just for past and future journalists but for anyone who relies on them in the ever-evolving Information Age.
If you go: Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel discuss their newest book, Blur: How to Know What's True in the Age of Information Overload, 7:30 p.m. tonight (Dec. 16) at Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle. Tickets cost $5 and are available at the door, by calling 800-838-3006, or at brownpapertickets.com.
