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Ready Reading News Sources: Good Journalism

This guide links to the direct websites for the more popular newspapers and sources, as well as listing print newspapers in the library and databases where you can get further sources.

What makes real news real?

Visual in Green and Yellow with the text: What makes real news real? 1. Real news is presented by real news sources. Check your news source for a code of ethics or a mission statement. 2. Real news is written by reporters with degrees in journalism, and, often, in the fields in which they write. 3. The primary goal of real news is to inform. If your'e mad, scared, furious, or anxious, you will want to investigate the article's claims further. 4. Real news can be verified. You should be able to find reports, statistics and other real news articles that support what you're reading.
Borrowed with permission from Indiana University East.

Things to think about

Text with the following messages: What to Think About When Thinking About the News. 1. What is the main idea of this article? What is the point this article is trying to make? Was it easy to find? Does the title of the article make sense? 2. How does this article want me to feel? What kind of language is being used? Are the images positive or negative? Do you see lots of exclamation points and words in bold that make you pay attention to them? 3. Does this article provide evidence for its claims from good sources? Are the links provided sending you to medical journals, articles in well-researched publications or statistical sites? Or are they sending you to "alternative" sites with little factual information? 4. Am I able to independently verify claims in this article? If a claim doesn't have a link in the article, can I find information on it myself? Are all the links simply recycled from one sources, or are there multiple tests, surveys, studies or other sources available?
Borrowed with permission from Indiana University East.

Society of Professional Journalists

Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity.

The Society declares these four principles as the foundation of ethical journalism and encourages their use in its practice by all people in all media.

  • Seek Truth and Report It
  • Minimize Harm
  • Act Independently
  • Be Accountable and Transparent

News outlet codes of ethics and standards

One of the ways in which a news source demonstrates its authenticity and responsibility to its readers is through a publicly accessible code of ethics or standards.  A sample of various codes, mission statements and ethics handbooks are listed below.

Quality journalism

Seven Standards of Quality Journalism
1. Multiple credible sources
2. Verification
3. Avoidance of Bias
4. Balance
5. Documentation
6. Context
7. Fairness

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