FREE from the Poynter Institute*, a self-directed course for reporters: “Sources, Verification, and Credibility”.

Time estimate for course: 1–2 hours. “You can start and stop whenever you like, progressing entirely at your own pace and going back as many times as you want to review the material.” 

Course Instructor: Candace Perkins Bowen.

“This $24.95 course is FREE thanks to funding support from the Radio Television Digital News Foundation, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.”

To register use this link. Some of the course material covered is:

• Who else do you need to talk to?
• Does this make sense?
• What’s missing?
• Have you kept opinion out of the information—or clearly labeled it as opinion?
• Have you eliminated your bias and your sources’ bias as much as possible?
• Have you filled in the gaps in information?
• Have you made your reporting transparent?
• Have you put the information in context?
• Did you avoid sensationalism and are you showing why the topic is important in a clear and concise way?

*To learn more about the Poynter Institute, “A global leader in journalism”, use this link.