Last week my four-year-old son asked me what I do at work. I told him I read the news. He proceeded to ask me what I talk about and I told him politics. He thought for a second and then looked up at me with his curious blue eyes and said “like car crashes?” Yes, son, exactly! Sometimes politics seems like a mess.
Unrestricted web publishing can lead to a digital car crash as well if the credibility of the author, sources, and information collide to create a world wide wreck. Anyone with internet access and typing skills can publish information and it requires a consumer with critical thinking skills to ensure they are reading reputable and factual information.
Even reputable news organizations face credibility and source issues on a regular basis. To illustrate this point, I evaluated this article from Time. It’s a political piece from Monday that focuses on President Obama’s announcement related to illegal immigration and shifting more resources to border patrol. The reporter, Zeke Miller, is a Yale graduate who has worked as a political reporter for three nationally recognized publications. This clearly gives him authority and passes the qualification test cited by George Mason University as part of its criteria when evaluating WWW resources.
Time Magazine has a longstanding tradition as a reputable news organization as well with a history dating back to 1923. The web version of this story has links to extensive background on the magazine and author. It does not appear Mr. Miller has any peer reviewed publications but there is significant material from prior work available online. The story is from this week so it’s clearly timely and there is no blatant bias noticeable. His style of writing is fairly straightforward and each declarative statement is sourced.
The author’s sources are quotes from a widely televised news conference by President Obama that is also available online. His other sources are quotes from statements he acquired by the U.S. House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader. In a brief search, none of the statements he uses are disputed. Mr. Miller also uses quotes from the Republican National Committee Chairman and the head of a Hispanic organization. It is unclear if those were statements or part of an interview conducted by the reporter. The least reliable source is information used in a declarative manner and sourced to a “White House official”. While it’s unfortunate, it’s not uncommon for White House reporters to get information on background from an unnamed official. It’s also more about the process President Obama will use to implement his plan rather than any opinion on the issue.
This article clearly meets the criteria in evaluating credibility and is a great guideline for a consumer to see what constitutes a credible resource. The internet is the new wild west of the information frontier and unrestricted web publishing is inevitable. Our job as a consumer is to have the skills to ensure we are reading credible information to avoid digital car crashes!
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