News in the 21st Century - How to Write it ...
Do you want to write a good story and build your reputation here on Steemit? I will give some general tips in this article that researchers and news agencies use every day. If you follow these they will help you to become a trustworthy source of information with a solid reputation here on Steemit.
Never before have we had such choice and freedom of where to get our news, our information or how to contribute to the collective knowledge of society. In years gone by there were the the papers, the radio and Universities. You had to be a reporter or an academic to contribute to public knowledge. The elite that controlled the information supply was certainly not open to the public, apart from one or two letters to the editor that made the backpages each week.
A brave new world
In 2017 we are living in a very different age. Anyone can contribute. Knowledge and news is now in your hands. This power comes with responsibility. In this post I will give some practical tips for posting solid articles. Good practice will keep your content top quality and your reputation intact. It's up to you to make the posts interesting though :)
Steemit as an Information Source
Since I have come across Steemit I have generally been blown away by the quality of the content here. People go to great lengths to research topics and to write and edit great stories. This amazing platform has a diverse array of articles; fiction, news, science, politics, art. There is so much posted on Steemit that you would never imagine being posted on Facebook or the like. Its building to be an exciting platform with potential to be a trustworthy source of news and a place where you also can come and learn. Just check out some of @sirwincherters posts https://steemit.com/@sirwinchester. Amazing stuff.
Real News
So what separates good articles from just good stories or click-bait? How can you trust what you are reading? Is it real or fake news? or worse propaganda?
Practical Writing Tips
The following practical tips will give gravitas to your articles and keep your reputation intact.
- Break down the piece to facts and commentary, check your facts!
- Reference Reputable Sources. e.g. For key facts don't reference Wikipedia.
- Post reference links, sometimes you think you saw something but when you go to find it you cant.
- Reach out to some well known people on Steemit for opinion before posting.
- Use Storyfuls free addon for Chrome Storyful Chrome Addon to check the facts
- Get a comment from the company or people concerned
- Quote or reference multiple independent sources for the key facts
- Get peer reviewed, by an expert in the field. This may not always be possible but is good practice.
Why Bother
Getting comments from people or reaching out to senior members of Steemit may take time but if nothing else it gives you a chance to clean up your thoughts and put them together in a brief synopsis. If your messaging a Whale to ask about their opinion on an issue your going to give them the short version. This frequently helps me rewrite my story and break it down to the key points.
Linking and citing articles also gives you a chance to recheck your facts. On top of that it also saves you so much time. If someone comments on your article you can just point them to your source. It saves arguments and lets people confirm details and form opinions on what you have written.
Tip
- Use Storyfuls free addon for Chrome Storyful Chrome Addon to check the facts.
Traditional News Agencies taking Fake News Seriously
The BBC
Even mainstream news agencies have begun to try to tackle fake news. The BBC are seting up a team to tackle fake news, "to fact check and debunk deliberately misleading and false stories masquerading as real news".
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/12/bbc-sets-up-team-to-debunk-fake-news
Storyful
Storyful is one company which many news agencies are using to validate news to "to try to keep those operations from embarrassing themselves online".
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-12/a-digital-fact-checker-fights-fake-news
Thank you for reading this. I write on Steemit about Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Travel and lots of random topics.
Images have been sourced from https://pixabay.com, Steemit logo from @stino-san
Thank you for the thoughtful advice. It's been so long since I've written a critique or an essay that it's a good reminder. I've been thinking of tackling some articles I frequently see coming out of Indie Film publications that just reek of ideology and could use a good response, but I also don't want to look like an ass. I'll be referencing this soon for something I've been thinking of composing. Thanks again!
Thanks @distantsignal, glad it helps. I look forward to reading your critiques.
The BBC are the biggest culprits. Good advice there thank you :)
Its about time they got their act together.
Exactly, We have stopped watching the BBC now to many lies and stupid tv licence
For a correct referencing, I must say that it may depend. As soon as one speaks about some general knowledge about a domain and one has studied a lot this domain, the source can be the author himself.
I think that aspect of the article should be made clear to the reader. Based on your experience..., or based on 20 years working in x..., I conclude....
That way the reader can make up his own mind. It makes a piece much more trustworthy and transparent. It let's the reader see what has led you to your conclusions.
Yep :)