MISSOURIAN GUIDELINES FOR USING INFORMATION ON THE WEB
By Stan Ketterer, Missourian News
Editor
Staff members of the Columbia Missourian newsroom must be on
guard when using the resources of the World Wide Web. The degree
of accuracy and the credibility of information on Web sites
varies widely. Just ask Pierre Salinger, the former presidental
press secretary. Salinger was ridiculed when he publicly
proclaimed that a bogus document blaming the U.S. government for
shooting down a TWA jetliner was authored by the French
intelligence service.In general, staff members must evaluate information on the Web with a critical eye by following the same standard journalistic practices that they would use for assessing the credibility and the accuracy of any information. There are also a few evaluative tools that are unique to the Web.
In most cases, Missourian staff members must contact the source of the information to verify it before it can be used in a story. In general, attribute all information from a Web site that is used in a story.
Staff Rules
2. In most cases, information taken directly from the Web and used in a story must be attributed. If you have verified the information on a home page with a source, you can use the organization in the attribution, e.g. "according to the EPA" or "EPA figures show." If you cannot verify the information after trying repeatedly, attribute unverified information to the Web page, e.g. "according to the Voice of America's site on the World Wide Web." Consult your faculty editor before using unverified information in your story.
If you have doubts about the accuracy of the information and you cannot reach the source, get it from another source, such as a book or a another contact person. When in doubt, leave the information out of your story.
3. Check the extension on the first part of the site's address, or URL, to get clues as to the nature of the organization and the likely slant of the information. The extensions are:
| .gov (Government) | |
| .edu (Education) | |
| .com (Commercial) | |
| .mil (Military) | |
| .org (Not-for-profit organization) | |
| .net (Internet administration) |
The same is true for many of the sites of colleges and universities. If college and university sites have source documents, such as the Constitution, attribute the information to the source document. But beware. Personal home pages have ".edu" extensions, and the information is not always credible. DO NOT USE INFORMATION FROM A PERSONAL HOME PAGE WITHOUT CONTACTING THE PERSON AND WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF A FACULTY EDITOR.
In nearly all cases, DO NOT take information directly from the home pages of commercial and not-for-profit organizations and use it without verification. Verify and attribute all information on those pages.
4. Check the date when the page was last updated. The date generally appears at the top or the bottom on the first page of the site. Although a recent date does not ensure that the information is current, it does indicate that the organization is paying close attention to the site. If the site does not state when it was last updated, check when it was created. Creation dates generally appear at the bottom of the first page.
If no date appears, if the site has not been updated for a while, or if it was created a while ago, DO NOT use the information on the site unless you verify it with a source.
This page was created by Stan Ketterer, Missourian news editor, graduate instructor and doctoral student. It was created Feb. 14, 1996.
Send questions or comments to: c249198@showme.missouri.edu