ACCURACY CHECKLIST globalnews.

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While Reporting
 Ask sources to spell name & title; then verify what you wrote
 Record or transcribe interviews
 When someone cites numbers, ask for (and check) source
 Ask “how do you know that?”
 Seek documentation
 Verify claims with reliable sources
 Save links and other research
 Ask sources what other reports got wrong

While writing
 Note facts that need further verification
 Cut and paste (with attribution) quotes from digital documents.
 Final Checks Before Submission
 Numbers & Math (have someone check your math)
 Names (check vs. notes & 1 other source)
 Titles (people, books etc.)
 Locations
 Compare quotes to notes/recording/transcript
 Check attribution (insert link if from the web)
 Definitions
 Verify URLs (check them and check whether cited content is still there)
 Phone numbers (call them)
 Spelling & Grammar
 Spellchecker Errors
 Have you assumed anything? (If so, verify, hedge or remove.)
 If you have any doubts, recheck with the original source.
 Where your understanding is weak, read the final copy to someone who does
understand.

When finished
 Correct any errors you found in your archives, databases or other resources you control
(but be certain you have verified the new information).
My elaboration
Get names right.
I wish I could tell you how many times my name has been misspelled by professional journalists
(some of them asking me for a job). I guarandamntee you that every time you spell someone’s
name wrong, that person will remember for a long time. And will wonder what else you got
wrong. So get the name right to begin with. Here’s what I had to say about name verification in
my blog post that accompanied Craig’s accuracy workshop:

Screw up a name and readers who know how that person spells the name will not trust
anything else you write. And the source will certainly question your ability or commitment to
getting anything else right.

Ask every character to spell her name.

Any time you have access to a character whose name you will be using, ask the character to
spell his name for you, however common the spelling (if it seems like a stupid question, make a
self-deprecating joke or a reassuring comment about your dedication to accuracy). Print the
name clearly in your notebook as spelled, then read it back to the character as you’ve written it.
If you assume you know how to spell the name and just read your presumed spelling back to
the character, you risk error by at least two means: the character is not fully engaged and isn’t
paying attention when you spell the name wrong or the character does not hear you well,
whether because of an impairment, accent or background noise, and confirms an incorrect
spelling. Asking “usual spelling?” presumes that you and the character have the same
understanding of what’s “usual” and that you heard the character’s pronunciation correctly.
Maybe the character answers you “usual spelling.” Still seek confirmation: “John with an H?” or
“Steven with a V?” Better yet, spell out the name and use the question: “John with an H, J-o-h-
n?” In addition to ensuring accuracy, this redundant exercise underscores to the character that
he’s talking for the record and that you’re taking notes of what he says and planning to print his
name. If you are recording, still write the name  down in a notebook, computer or cell phone.
You should not assume that the recording will be audible.

Get it in writing.
Ask the character to write her name in the notebook for you. Then read it back to her to make
sure you can read her handwriting. Ask for a business card.

Check it out even when you get it in writing.

Don’t presume that a business card or a document or a name plate on the source’s desk is
spelled correctly. I had a colleague at API whose name plate on his door was spelled wrong. He
didn’t notice the error until I pointed it out to him. I let people copy and reproduce my
handouts for newsroom training sessions. Sometimes the person who’s reproducing does some
introductory material at the top and my name gets misspelled Buttrey. You could have that
document and presume you have my name in writing, but all that means is that you have it
spelled wrong in writing. A reporter at The Oregonian received a business card from a source
who deals regularly with Asian clients. The reporter didn’t realize and the source didn’t say that
the person spelled his name phonetically on the card, to help clients pronounce it correctly.

Check resources.
Check the Internet (Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, a source’s organization’s website) and other
resources (your clips, if you work at a newspaper) about a person, but don’t presume they are
always correct. I had a source tell me his name was spelled “Lawler” but our paper always
spelled it “Lawlor” (and a check of our clips showed that we frequently did misspell it).

Nail it down.
If you’re covering an event rather than an interview, get a program or agenda beforehand. Try
to locate the main people and ask them if their names are spelled correctly in the program. If
someone you don’t know speaks or does something during the event, try to get to him as
quickly as possible and get his name. If that is not possible, ask someone who would know.
Then try to run the person down by phone to verify. Your notebook should have each name
spelled right, verified by the character. If possible you should have at least one printed or digital
source with the name also on it.

Check source of numbers.

People citing numbers in interviews are operating on memory, unless the report is right in front
of them. And memory is unreliable (more on that shortly). Especially when numbers are
concerned. I’ve done it myself. I can remember interviews and panel discussions and Q&A
sessions after workshops where I threw out numbers, wondering as I said them, how accurate
my memory was. I usually hedge them, but people seldom pin me down, even if they are
writing about the numbers. When I bothered to check my numbers, I’m usually off, at least a
little. Asking the source of numbers both helps you verify that number and often gives you
access to a report with more numbers (sometimes more relevant than the ones the source was
citing) and other helpful facts.

Ask “how do you know that?”

This is the most important question a reporter can ask. When people tell you things, you usually
don’t know whether they are sharing facts they know firsthand, things they think they
remember, rumors they heard or opinions they hold or heard. “How do you know that?” helps
you learn and judge the accuracy of the things people tell you. I think the most common source
of reporter error is repeating misinformation from sources. Judith Miller’s infamous errors
about weapons of mass destruction came from trusting sources who were lying or
misinformed. She said, “If your sources are wrong, you are wrong.” I say, when you ask, “How
do you know that?” you reach more firsthand sources and you sniff out the innocent and
dishonest errors of your sources. Remember, your name goes at the top of the story, not your
sources’. “How do you know that?” is also a great question for editors to ask reporters. I also
like a second question my friend and sometime-training colleague Rosalie Stemer encourages
reporters and editors to ask: “How else do you know that?”
Seek documentation.
Here’s what I wrote on this in my blog post on accuracy tips:

Find official data, records and reports that can confirm, refute or expand upon what you have
been told. Photographs or videos might help you verify some details. If you are writing about a
court hearing you didn’t attend, get the official transcript.

And here’s what I wrote on my Training Tracks blog at the American Press Institute about how
an old video helped me correct the mistaken memories of several sources:

Even the most reliable sources can be wrong in the least controversial of stories. In 1996, I was
writing a series about a team that had won the Iowa girls high school basketball championship
25 years earlier. I interviewed every member of the championship team, the Farragut
Admiralettes. I interviewed the star and coach of the other team (both of Farragut’s coaches
had died). I interviewed journalists who covered the game and fans who watched.

Again and again, I heard the same story about how Farragut won: Mediapolis ran up an early
lead as Barb Wischmeier, who was 6-foot-1, scored a lot of points. Then Farragut’s coach sent
5-foot-2 Tanya Bopp in to guard Wischmeier. Bopp drew a bunch of charging fouls, flustered the
bigger girl and Farragut came from behind to win the championship. It was one of the most
important and memorable events of these women’s lives. People remembered the game in vivid
detail. Some remembered specifically that Bopp drew three fouls or four.

I had no reason to doubt anyone’s story. I got a videotape and watched it, looking for some
details to add to my story, to help me help the reader see the championship game, the moment
of celebration. I was confused after watching the tape, so I watched again, counting the fouls.
Bopp drew one foul on Wischmeier. It did turn the game around but it happened only once. I
couldn’t trust anyone’s memory about the game, as vividly as they recalled it. In the retelling
and reliving of that game, the key moment grew to legendary proportions.

How much more can the fog of war or the selectiveness of partisanship distort memory or twist
facts? Sometimes verification is tougher than watching a videotape, but verification is one of a
reporter’s most important duties.

Note facts that need further verification.

I think writing is an essential part of the reporting process. As you write, you will remember
things that might not be in your notebook. Note in the text in some way by highlighting, adding
a parenthetical note (but watch out that you don’t publish the note). For instance, I wrote this
draft in Word and highlighted in yellow the Judith Miller quote above, “When your sources are
wrong, you are wrong.” I was writing on my laptop on a bus, without Internet access except on
my phone. The highlight reminded me to check the quote later (and change “when” to “if”).
Same with “Sully” (couldn’t recall his first name when I was writing).
Cut and paste quotes.
I pass this tip along with extreme caution. A common excuse (and a flimsy one that I have never
bought) cited by plagiarists is that they were sloppy in cutting and pasting. So be sure to insert
attribution (and a link) before you paste. But cutting and pasting of quotations from the
Internet or source documents remains the best way to ensure accurate quotations. If you’re
typing the quote, it’s easy to leave out a “not” (or type “now” instead) or make a typo that
changes “trial” to “trail” or some sort of other error that spellcheck won’t catch and that even a
sharp eye might miss.

Numbers and math.

Don’t just check your own math. Ask someone else to check it for you. This way, you won’t be
repeating a mistake you made initially. And collaboration in accuracy is a good practice anyway.

Check names.
Don’t just check them against your notes. Check against another source (a reliable web source,
a business card, etc.). I used to work with a guy whose last name was Sullinger and people
called him “Sully,” so I wrote that as Sully’s last name above. In searching for his first name
online, I typed “pilot, sully,” and as I started typing “sullinger”, Google suggested “Sullenberger”
after I typed the first few letters. Checking those links, I quickly spotted my mistake and fixed it.
I had the last name wrong (see “assumptions” below).

Check attribution.
Have you attributed (and linked) appropriately and correctly the facts you don’t know
firsthand? This both ensures accuracy and prevents accidental plagiarism.

Verify URLs and phone numbers.

Go to the URL (cut and paste it from your story) and make sure it’s right and that the cited
material is still there. Call the phone number.

Assumptions.
Scan your story for assumptions. When you find them, challenge them and verify, remove or
hedge appropriately.

Check your doubts.

If anything is in conflict or in doubt, re-report and nail it down. Go to the original (or best)
source, if possible. If the spelling of the name in your notes doesn’t match the business card or
the web resources you check, check with the person herself. Hardly anyone minds a call to
ensure the accuracy of your content.

Read the actual passage to an expert.

If you are writing about something you don’t understand well (a legal, medical or technical
process, for instance), read the final copy to someone who does understand. Steve Weinberg
and George Kennedy favor running the whole story by sources in all cases. I don’t go that far,
but I respect both men and pass along that advice for consideration for your checklist. And on
occasion, I have run an entire story past a source, with my editors’ approval.

Fix errors in resources.

If, in the process of your reporting and verification, you find errors in your own archives,
databases or other resources, be sure to correct those errors, so they don’t lead to future
errors. And be sure to note the conflict in an unpublished note with your story, so editors
relying on the archives don’t repeat the mistake.

Don’t be daunted if this looks time-consuming. Some of these checks will take seconds. For
most stories, running through a checklist takes only 10 to 15 minutes, if that. If you’re under
deadline pressure, you can check the first few paragraphs and post that, saying the story will be
updated. Then check the rest and update. Accuracy is worth a few minutes, because the
damage an error causes lasts way longer than the delay a checklist causes.

Two newspapers published errors in stories about me in 1991. I remember them two decades
later. I don’t want people remembering my errors that long.