Reality Umpire

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in October 2013.

Storyful may help put citizen journalism on the map. Or it may put full-time photojournalists out of work. Or it may help major news organizations preserve their credibility. Or it may be largely ineffective.

Storyful is a reality verification service for newspapers and other news outlets. Is a video shot by an onlooker to a disaster real or fake? Oftentimes, editors do not have the training to make that judgment. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Is it important for us to know that a news story is real? Why?

•Is Storyful good or bad for free-lance journalists? Is it good or bad for established new outlets like the Los Angeles Times?

•How is Storyful changing how media outlets cover important events?