Just to Verify...

Everything I'm learning about journalism comes back to one main principle (which reminds me a lot of the 'there is one story' theme in How to Read Literature Like a Professor---check it out, awesome book!): Truth. All in all I have to make sure that what I am presenting to the public is truth, which takes us to today's topic of discussion...Verification.

A lot of the time journalists are forced to republish news. In this day there are so many outlets that publish news there is a good chance that every story is getting told in some form or another. The important part is to make sure that what you are republishing is true and to do that you must VERIFY.

One great rule of thumb to live by: IF YOU CAN'T VERIFY IT, THEN DON'T USE IT.

But this can be more than just checking sources. Verification goes into you personally interviewing someone. Make sure you're not taking something they say and twisting it to work for your story. Check with them on what they said and then double check to make sure it is what they meant.
Also be as transparent as possible. You want the viewers/readers/listeners to completely understand what you are talking about and be able to see through every point you are making. Journalism is not the business of confusing people. If there is a point that isn't clearly outlined or presented then make it more clear. Don't leave anything to question.
A great way to do this is by anticipating the questions that your viewers/readers/listeners will ask. If you can accurately do that, then you can answer those questions before they have time to formulate the complete thought.

Like I mentioned before, it all comes back to truth which comes back to trust. Your audience needs to trust you. If they don't, then they won't be your audience for very long. Even if you are displaying accurate information but they have questions that often go unanswered people will not trust you. Not only do you have to deserve the trust by being honest, but you have to prove to the audience that you are being honest.
Now in closing I am leaving you with an example of what not to do. This is a totally real person and some other (really clever) people went and wrote a song to explain what is going on in his head. (In case you're a little slow that's what you shouldn't do. Be truthful and transparent).