Day 4: How do I merge facts with opinion?
Issues
- Where do you get your facts?
- How do you know a "fact" is an actual fact?
- How do you trust "facts" you get from people you interview?
- How much factual detail is enough? How much is too much?
Background
Source
Issue
Text
KJ Dell’antonia, Why Schools Should Undermine Moral Teachings in NY Times (excerpt)
Fact vs opinion and who decides, school vs parents
Schools may indeed be undermining the teaching of moral values by declaring them opinions, but the strongest among those values — those that one could argue should get the status of “moral fact” — are those that stay strong because so many of us so passionately choose to share them. The statement among all these examples hardest to relegate to the “opinion” category, “all men are created equal,” is anything but fact (moral or otherwise) in much of the world and arguably in our own country. It’s a powerful opinion [grounded in a firm cultural value] that, like Tinker Bell, requires our most fervent belief to keep it aloft.
By letting that value, and others, remain opinion, questionable by second graders and college students alike, we give those opinions the power to change, and the power to change us. So as a parent, I will teach the morals, the values underlying my opinions. The schools will teach my children to question me. In that way, we all end up on the right side of history.
Leslie Jamison from Make It Scream, Make It Burn
Re her trip to Jaffna, Sri Lanka at the reconstructed Tamil library. She was going in cold researching a writing assignment about the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war.
There’s a notion that spontaneity permits authenticity, liberating us from the freight and tangle of too much context, too much research, too much intention. [But] looking at this place [the reconstructed library in Jaffna] without knowing its history wasn’t any kind of vision at all.
The Art of Opinion Writing, Chapter on Ellen Goodman
Gathering and reporting facts for a piece
In Goodman’s writing, research is key to creativity and credibility. It’s not just about gathering data to bolster an argument. She uses investigation to address novel questions, explore fresh approaches and suggest new directions.
“Opinion writers should follow what really interests them and then learn about it.”
The Art of Opinion Writing, Chapter on Connie Schultz
Interviewing
With every story you do, you are building a reputation for yourself. Every interview contributes to that.
“Interview individuals first. Then set up an interview with the institution.” If the institution refuses, tell them you’ve got a story from others already.
University of Washington, University Libraries
CRAAP criteria for judging sourced information
- Currency: Timeliness of the information
- Relevance: Importance of the information for your needs
- Authority: Source of the information
- Accuracy: Truthfulness and correctness of the information
- Purpose: Reason the information exists
Discussion Questions
- What kinds of questions and how many can you ask an interviewee?
- How much of your own experience or opinion can you inject into a piece?
- How do you personally judge a "credible source"?
- How susceptible are you to deluding yourself?
Application
A lot of people — millions — are convinced Trump won the 2018 election. Assuming you’re not one of them, how do you interview people who are? What kind of questions do you put on your interview protocol?
Now change directions and assume you “know” that Trump won the election. Repeat the exercise, but set out to interview people who don’t support your position.