Having Your Facts Right

Something new from an older reporter I knew in the Midwest when we lived there. Some wisdom to share about being sure about what you write.

There is truth to Jack Lessenberry’s commentary. If you are not sure, do not write it or talk about it. It will come back at you and then what? It is better to let it go till you know if it is correct. You can always add commentary to state you were checking your source(s) to make sure what you posted or said is true.

I know Jack from Michigan where I used to live with my wife and three children They grew up and went their way. We reached out for a new beginning elsewhere.

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“First, Get It Right … “

by Jack Lessenberry

Politics and Prejudices and other musings

When I was being trained as a journalist, and later as a young reporter, there was a mantra that was as important for reporters as “Om” was to any Buddhist:

Get it first, but first, get it right.

That was a lot harder in the 1970s than it is today. Newspapers of any decent size had reference libraries, called “morgues.” Many reporters had their own clipping files and a small stack of reference books. Reporters who made avoidable factual errors were often chastised, harshly and publicly, in the newsroom; ditto if you made an unwarranted assumption. Nobody talked about hostile workplace environments in those days; if they had, we would have thought that was the definition of a newsroom.

My own nemesis was a flinty, white-haired copy editor from Vermont named Bill Shay, about whom I actually had nightmares. He’s long dead, but I wish I could tell him that I am grateful to him for making me a better writer and a stickler for accuracy.

There is, in fact, no substitute for getting it right. If you don’t have your facts right, you and your arguments lose all credibility.

Today a very bright Canadian fellow who usually reads and often comments on my columns posted that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Jocelyn Benson Secretary of State in order to keep Blacks in their place. I don’t think his argument has much merit, but I told him he destroyed any chance to be taken seriously because he didn’t bother to find out that secretaries of state in Michigan are not appointed, they are elected in their own right to four-year terms.

Years ago, a former student told me she had decided to be a novelist, and wanted me to look at the manuscript of her first book. I did, and in the first chapter, which in fact seemed well-written, she had a major league baseball player retiring and being immediately elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I stopped reading and called her.

“You can’t do that,” I said. “Even the best players aren’t eligible till five years after they retire.” She said, “but it’s a novel!”

Yes, I said. But two plus two still has to be four, and even in a novel, basic facts are basic facts (unless it’s set in some alternative reality, and even then you still are obligated to explain.) She was disillusioned. I don’t know if she ever fixed it, but I doubt it.

The moral of the story is that there is NO substitute for accuracy, period. Today it is so much easier to verify facts via the Internet, as long as you are using accurate sources. Don’t try to let AI do it for you; take a class or do some studying about media literacy instead. And there’s another great saying we had back in the day:

When in doubt, leave it out.

By the way, I am fully aware that the president of the United States lies constantly, and clearly doesn’t care most of the time if there’s any truth in anything he says.

That’s one more reason why we have to.

The truth, believe it or not, really will set you free.