351 lecture_9

Sources

Week 8

• Take-home style exam

• Submitted on Turnitin.com

• Available November 2

• Due November 8

• Short answer and essay on material presented up to Week 6.

• Study guide now online

Midterm Exam

Says Who?

Critical Evaluation of Sources interviewed

for News Reports

ü What is her/his self-interest?

ü Does anyone else say so?

ü Is it verified fact, or assertion?

ü How would this source know?

ü Who, exactly, is this source?

Smart Questions About Sources:

Critical Thinking is…

Critical Thinking skills:

Why Sources Matter

What Are the ConsequencesWhen The Press Gets it Wrong?

U.S. Invades Iraq to Capture WMD

Why Critical Thinking About Sources Matters

To Be Fair…

"Saddam  Hussein  has  spent  the  be1er  part  of  this  decade,  and  much  of  his  na7on's  

wealth,  not  on  providing  for  the  Iraqi  people,  but  on  developing  nuclear,  chemical  and  biological  weapons  and  the  missiles  to  

deliver  them."                

President  Clinton,  Jan.  27,  1998.  

To Be Fair…    

     "Iraq  is  a  long  way  from  [here],  but  what  happens  there  ma1ers  a  great  

deal  here.  For  the  risks  that  the  leaders  of  a  rogue  state  will  use  nuclear,  

chemical  or  biological  weapons  against  us  or  our  allies  is  the  greatest  security  

threat  we  face."                

Madeleine  Albright,  Feb.  18,  1998.        

To Be Fair…

               "Fateful  decisions  will  be  made  in  the  days  and  weeks  ahead.  At  issue  is  nothing  less  than  the  fundamental  ques7on  of  whether  or  not  we  can  keep  the  most  lethal  weapons  known  to  mankind  out  of  the  hands  of  an  unreconstructed  tyrant  and  aggressor  …”              

Sen.  Joe  Biden  (D,  DE),  Feb.  12,  1998    

To Be Fair…

"He  will  use  those  weapons  of  mass  destruc7on  again,  as  he  has  ten  7mes  since  

1983."                

Sandy  Berger,  Clinton  Na7onal  Security  Adviser,  

Feb.  18,  1998

“The problematic articles varied in authorship and subject matter, but many shared a common feature. They

depended at least in part on information from a circle of Iraqi informants, defectors and exiles bent on ‘regime

change’ in Iraq, people whose credibility has come under increasing public debate in recent weeks.”

May  26,  2004

üWhat is her/his self-interest?

üDoes anyone else say so?

üIs it fact, or assertion?

üHow would this source know?

üWho, exactly, is this source?

Today: Five Smart Questions About Sources:

Judging the Reliability of Sources

Named Sources Are Better Than Unnamed Sources

Authoritative/Informed Sources Are Better Than Uninformed Sources

Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources

Sources Who Verify Are Better Than Sources Who Assert

Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources

(Mnemonic Device: I’M VAIN)

Judging the Reliability of Sources

Independent Sources Are Better Than

Self-Interested Sources

Self Interest vs. Selfishness Intellectual

Religion/poli7cs Familial/Roman7c

Financial

A Self-interested source…

An Independent source

Independence: Rival Praises Finding

Decoded  DNA  Reveals  Details  Of  Black  Death  GermScien/sts  have  used  DNA  lurking  inside  the  teeth  of  medieval  Black  Death  vic/ms  to  figure  out  the  en/re  gene/c  code  of  the  deadly  bacterium  that  swept  across  Europe  more  than  600  years  ago,  killing  an  es/mated  half  of  the  popula/on...

The  Natural  History  Museum  of  Denmark's  Thomas  Gilbert  is  one  of  the  scien/sts  who  tried  to  find  plague  DNA  in  Black  Death  vic/ms  in  the  past  without  success.  He  says  the  new  technique  used  in  this  study  is  exci/ng  and  the  analysis  is  compelling.  "It's  a  great  result.  It  looks  very,  very  convincing,"  Gilbert  says.  "There's  no  reason  why  the  data  shouldn't  be  real."

How  is  this  source  self-­‐interested?Does  that  mean  the  story  is  unreliable?

NYT  –  (October  13,  2011)  People  with  eaFng  disorders  like  anorexia  have  opened  up  a  new  baKleground  in  the  insurance  wars,  tesFng  the  boundaries  of  laws  mandaFng  equivalent  coverage  for  mental  illnesses.

Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources

Independence: A Ruthless Standard

Judging the Reliability of Sources

Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources

Multiple Sources vs. Lone Source

Multiple Sources Trump a Lone Source?

Reconstructing the Blackwater Incident in Nusoor Square

In Pursuit of TruthBlackwater shooting

Judging the Reliability of Sources

Sources Who Verify Are Better Than

Sources Who Assert

The  Tokyo  ci/zens’  group…in  consulta/on  with  the  Yokohama-­‐based  Isotope  Research  Ins/tute,  collected  soil  samples  from  near  their  own  homes.  Some  of  the  results  were  shocking:  the  sample  that  Mr.  Hayashida  collected  under  shrubs  near  his  neighborhood  baseball  field  in  the  Edogawa  ward  measured  nearly  138,000  becquerels  per  square  meter  of  radioac/ve  cesium  137,  which  can  damage  cells  and  lead  to  an  increased  risk  of  cancer.  

Verifying or Asserting?

Verifying or Asserting?

Sources Who Verify vs. Sources Who Assert

Just Like We Always ask:

“Did the Reporter Open the Freezer?”

You can also ask”“Did the Source

Open the Freezer?

A Corollary to Last Week’s Lesson:

Judging the Reliability of Sources

Authoritative/Informed Sources Are Better Than

Un-informed Sources

Authoritative vs. Uninformed

Authoritative/Informed Sources vs. Un-informed Sources

Judging the Reliability of Sources

Named Sources Are Better Than

Unnamed Sources

Who Was ‘Deep Throat’?

The Most Famous Unnamed Source in History

Who Was ‘Deep Throat’?

The Most Famous Unnamed Source in History

Who Was ‘Deep Throat’?

The Most Famous Unnamed Source in History

Characterizing Unnamed Sources

Vaccines are Dangerous?Sez Who?

Evaluating Anonymous Sources

TransparencyCharacterization

Corroboration (evidence/sources)

Evaluate The Sources

Sources Outlets

Evaluate The Source

Judging the Reliability of Sources

Named Sources Are Better Than Unnamed Sources

Authoritative/Informed Sources Are Better Than Uninformed Sources

Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources

Sources Who Verify Are Better Than Sources Who Assert

Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources

(Mnemonic Device: I’M VAIN)

Evaluate Sources

Key Lesson:

Evaluate Sources

Evaluate Sources

Evaluate SourcesTo Find Reliable Information

With Which You:Make a decision

Take ActionMake a judgment

Preparing to Deconstruct the News

1) What Do I Know?

2) How Do I Know It?

3) What Don’t I Know?

• Take-home style exam

• Submitted on Turnitin.com

• Available November 2

• Due November 8

• Short answer and essay on material presented up to Week 6.

• Study guide now online

Midterm Exam