Characteristics of Credibility

Addressing news coverage and current events – including claims library staff and patrons encounter online – can quickly become entangled in perceptions of partisanship. Cut through polarization by focusing on the characteristics of credible information and the standards and guidelines that are used in journalism.

This session provides a deep dive into journalism standards and ethics. These include aspects of verification — such as the practice of gathering and comparing information from multiple credible sources — and ideals such as fairness, transparency, independence and accountability. We’ll address how journalists work to avoid bias, as well as the importance of context and balance. Finally, we’ll demonstrate how you can apply an understanding of these standards to judge the credibility of news and other information.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Tracee Stanford is the Senior Manager of Professional Learning for the News Literacy Project, where she designs and facilitates engaging news literacy professional development sessions for educators nationwide, virtually and in person. Before joining NLP, she was a program manager at Free Spirit Media, where she led media educators in teaching essential journalism skills to youth in underserved Chicagoland communities. She also worked as a high school journalism teacher in Chicago Public Schools, contributing to curriculum development, instructional strategies, and strategic partnerships. Tracee also has a background in local news, producing morning news for WSFA 12 in Montgomery, Alabama, and working as a reporter and producer for Alabama Public Television. She began her career as a statehouse reporter covering politics in Springfield, Illinois. Tracee holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois, Springfield.