By: Emma F.
Blur: How to Know What's True in the Age of Information Overload was written by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiel, who between them have more than eighty years of journalism experience. Throughout the book Kovach and Rosentiel provide insight into discerning what is true and what is fake in this technological time of information overload.
Although the book is based around journalism as a craft and different types of journalism, it does provide useful information for the everyday reader of news. As Kovach and Rodentiel call it, "skeptical knowing," or skepticism about the information you read, is very important in today's society where virtually anyone can post on the internet. To combat this they suggest readers ask themselves six essential questions including "Who or what are the sources, and why should I believe them?" and "What evidence is presented, and how was it tested or vetted?" To substantiate their claims the authors then apply these to scenarios where the reporter did not ask themselves one of the essential questions and misinformation was relayed.
Kovach and Rosentiel also discuss how new forms of journalism have developed over time. As there used to be only one type of journalism, there is now four. The authors define these as journalism of verification, journalism of assertion, journalism of affirmation, and interest group journalism. These different types of journalism can be dangerous. For example, journalism of assertion values immediacy over accuracy. Journalist spend less time fact checking under the pressure to get an original story out before the other sources of media.
Overall, the book was a good supplement to journalism class. However, it would not be a book that I would have read leisurely in my free time. It provided insight into skill that will continue to be useful as time and technology advances.
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