User:TSA/Source reliability

A Note on Reliability
Reliability is something that journalists are faced with everyday. How does one tell if a source is more reliable than another? How can one tell if any one source is reliable at all? Usually, there are a few standard guidelines to determining if a source, or a media outlet, is reliable. These criteria are:


 * An outlet must be able to have their information independently verified.
 * An outlet must typically have their reports republished in other outlets which have already obtained a "reliable" status.
 * An outlet must provide an origin for their information, unless it is an anonymous source.

If an outlet's source is anonymous, they typically must have a "reliable" status already for it to be somewhat trusted. Typically, you become a reliable source through publishing accurate information over and over, or at least publishing what you've been told is accurate. There's also another element to the reliable source equation. Some other variables to consider for a reliable source are:


 * An outlet will immediately pull any information found to be inaccurate or untrue and give an explanation as to it's initial posting.
 * An outlet will in good faith mark information as "rumor" if they can't verify its source or it is not being republished on other reliable outlets.
 * An outlet will call out inaccurate information found on other outlets, regardless of reputation or relationship with the said outlet.

Types of Outlets
Thus, not only is simply publishing accurate information the standard for a reliable source, but checking into other outlets as well and calling them on their inaccuracies is another important aspect. It is also important to remember that the nature of the outlet also plays into the factor of reliablity.

Typically, there exists four primary institutions for outlets. Message Boards/News Groups/Chat Rooms, Fan Sites, Blogs and News Outlets (print/online). These different outlets have varying levels of cost, time involved, and production quality. They also all serve different purposes, all of which affect the reliablity of information obtained in them.

Message boards and online communities are probably the most unreliable source because of the relative ease one has to post information. Thorough fact checking and investigation is required of all claims made on message boards, chat rooms, or online communities. For example, NeoGAF is one of the best sources for information, but typically users do not post sources for one reason or another. This leads to sometimes interesting results, as one time IGN fell for a fake news post a member made on the forum. Message boards and chat rooms typically serve as a place for dicussion, where information is passed along and debated or consumed. It is not generally a place for covering the news or getting content for an outlet. It may, occassionally, provide useful and reliable news and content, but it is mostly for consumer discussion.
 * Message Boards

A fan site, or any site strictly dedicated to paying tribute to some iconic entitity (usually in the video game industry, a franchise or individual title), is typically not a very reliable source, though they do provide accurate reports. Depending on how a fan site is setup, the reliability of them are different. Usually when a fan invests serious time and money into a site, hosting it themselves and paying for domains and web software to run it, they have a stake in their site and do not wish to ruin their reputation. Other sites, which take themselves less seriously, tend to not be as reliable. Important factors to consider initially when judging a fan site are; the presentation, the quality of content, the quantitiy of content, and the frequency of updates. These different outlets fall into the fan community realm typically, and they are best used for feedback to both the press and the industry. They may be subject to focus testing or be used as part of viral marketing, so they may occassionally have access to exclusive content and information, but generally, the majority of their content is strictly based on the IPs themselves. They are typically the best source of reference materials for a certain IP, though the accuracy of even this information must be closely scrutinized.
 * Fan Sites

Blogs are somewhere in between fan sites and official news outlets. Because of the nature of a blog, they tend to be much more reliable than a fan site depending on certain circumstances. Blogs are designed to pick up on every bit of news in the industry, as well as give immediate access to all viewers to "critique" the reports. Users will give comments on the report, give more details if they know it, and also call BS on certain postings. This works very closely like a message board, but because the blog nature give the owners and staff the sole power to post the news and reports, and only allows the public to fact check, it is generally more reliable. Blogs do meet the basic standards of a news outlet, but they tend to, by nature, lack on the type of organization more reliable sources demonstrate. For example, most blogs have very poor media control, typically posting all the media in the same news report or posting, and then not cataloguing it elsewhere in some gallery or media area.
 * Blogs

News outlets are typically very professional looking, whether they be an online website or a print magazine. They have high production value and typically cost the owners a lot of money, therefore they can't afford to be unreliable or else they will fail and go out of business. In the video game industry, news outlets typically focus on a major category; either one of the specific platforms, or all gaming in general. They do not focus on solely one franchise; that is too niche and the nature of that type of content becomes something that is typical of a fan site. News outlets have dedicated staff who speak with Public Relations outlets and industry members; they also are in attendance at major industry events and have the ability to produce extensive coverage of them.
 * News Outlets (Print/Online)

They are typically updated daily, several times, and they feature extensive media and community areas. Their job is to report on what is happening in the industry as well as produce professional criticism on the industry, either through editorials or through reviews of products. Professional news outlets typically have very structured looks, have identifiable areas for specific content, and routinely provide not only the industry standard of news reports found in press releases or in e-mail updates, but original reporting that is mutually exclusive to the site(interviews, investigative reporting, hands-on with product, media). The drawback to all of the cost and time put into such an outlet is that sometimes stories do not hit as quickly as they do on say, blogs or fan sites. News outlets must make absolutely sure the information is verified and correct before going "live" with it, whereas blogs and fan sites can retract information with very little recourse.