Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Health News Edition
Dec 25, 2015
A bogus study about chocolate and weight loss fooled several news outlets. Here, we present a thorough debunking of health news misreporting.
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Breaking News Consumer's Handbook
ON THE MEDIA'S BREAKING NEWS CONSUMER'S HANDBOOKS
Breaking news reporting often gets essential facts wrong. In fact, the rampant misreporting can be so common as to be predictable. And so, On the Media has developed formulas (with the help of experts) for how to spot spotty coverage.
Rather than counting on news outlets to get it right, we're looking at the other end. We have some tips for how to sort good information from bad -- whether the breaking news is about a tragic mass shooting or a stock market crash, an epidemic or a rash of election polls. Below is our collection of Breaking News Consumer's Handbooks, and it's growing all the time. Each one comes with a printable PDF that you can tape to your wall the next time you encounter a big news event.
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Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Election Polls Edition
Dec 18, 2015How can you tell important polling headlines from bad ones? Our partnership with FiveThirtyEight continues with this look at how to interpret polling data as the primaries get closer. -
Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Terrorism Edition
Nov 20, 2015Drawing on reporters, terrorism experts, and the media's best and worst impulses, a Breaking News Consumer's Handbook for the coverage after an act of terror. -
Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: SCOTUS Edition
Oct 9, 2015With the expertise of seasoned SCOTUS reporters, we've put together a handy guide for the discerning news consumer to make sense of the court, its decisions, and its coverage. -
Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Stock Market Volatility Edition
Aug 28, 2015When stocks go haywire, so do reporters. A breaking news consumer's handbook to help you make sense of senseless stock market coverage. -
A Skeptic's Guide to Health News and Diet Fads
Jul 31, 2015A bogus study about chocolate and weight loss fooled several news outlets. Here, we present a thorough debunking of health news misreporting and bogus, celebrity-endorsed diet fads. -
Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Bearing Witness Edition
Jun 12, 2015As another disturbing video of police action goes viral, we provide a handbook for filming police encounters and bearing witness. -
Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Data Breach Edition
Jun 12, 2015Governments get hacked - it's almost inevitable. The bigger the hack - the more acute the subsequent panic. Here's a breaking news consumer's handbook to help you make sense of a hack. -
Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Tectonic Edition
May 8, 2015After an earthquake, media coverage follows a predictable trajectory. We put together a template to help a discerning news consumer look for the real story.
