Evaluating Information: How to evaluate a news/ media source?

There are many different sources of news, including traditional news sources like newspapers, as well as websites and social media. This page will provide information and tips regarding how to evaluate all of these news sources and determine if they are reliable and accurate.

 

Evaluating News Sources

It is important to evaluate all sources of information. If you are using a news source for study you will need to evaluate the authority, accuracy, currency and relevance of this news.

Criterion What to Look For in News Sources
Authority Who wrote the news article? Is the name of the journalist clearly stated? Is the story from a reputable news source?
Accuracy Are the claims made in the story backed up with evidence and are the sources of the information clearly provided?
Currency When was the story reported? For very current events news stories may be the only source available. Sometimes older news stories may be used as historical documents of past events. However, either way you need to know when the story was written and decide if that date is suitable for your purposes.
Relevance Is the news story relevant for your assignment? Is it a suitable source for your assessment? Although sometimes news stories may be useful for your research, in general they would not be the best source for university assignments. More academic sources like text books, journal articles and reports would often be a better source for study. However, it will depend on the specific requirements of your assessment. 

Fake News

You have probably heard the term fake news. This refers to stories that appear to be news, but are actually false or misleading. Often they are intentionally created to mislead or manipulate.

Watch the below video for more information about fake news and tips to help identify it.

If in doubt if a news story is real it is important to double check it. There are many fact check websites to help you verify news stories, such as:

You can find a wide range of reliable news sources via the library news bank database.