The pitfalls of news reporting

Running Platinax News has been an eye-opening experience.

Not only has it shown me very clearly the value of a news portal for increasing traffic and organic link development, it’s also shown me some clear pitfalls on story reporting.

The key lesson is one of wording - you need to ensure you have a lawyer’s perception of the English language.

That means you make a very clear distinction between “attribution” and “fact”.

This became very clear today when I reported on the recent debacle over the iTunes sales figures.

Reuters reported on a story - a check on Google news showed the major media outlets were reporting it.

So I mentioned it in a story about the iPhone, and linked to it, to expand upon a general report of Apple at present.

In my mind, the link was an attribution - I’m stating a thing because this online media outlet has reported it - I am stating they have made a statement.

However, to some quite enraged Apple readers, the link was not an attribution. The words around the link were a statement of fact.

Well, I’m not sure to what degree a news story can be reported as “fact”.

Apply that thought to any story about the Iraq War from the past few years.

There are often no facts, merely suggestions of facts - a concophony of half-facts, partial-facts, and probably just made up “facts” by the PR people.

Point being, “facts” are not ascertained in news reporting in my opinion - but there is a “suggestion of fact”.

That’s no excuse though, for Platinax.

Heck, I’m not claiming Platinax News is a professional media company on a par with Reuters.

But there is a company behind the website, and the aim has always been to try and educate the somewhat backward-looking UK - from being a nation of business technophobes, into actually caring *why* there is an internet.

Some of the best stories on Platinax News have also been the most contentious - and often the contention is centered on the use of a single word, or absence of a single word, which can generate perceptions far removed from the actual story.

Did Apple iTunes sales plummet over this year?

Nobody knows.

The Forrestor report was private for investors, and Apple aren’t providing actual figures.

All the more reason next time to have a lawyer’s view of the language of reporting, and make a clearer distinction between “attribution” and “fact” where possible.