{"id":11,"date":"2019-07-08T21:23:29","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T21:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grad.journalism.torontomu.ca\/2019-taylorwest\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2019-07-22T14:17:32","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T14:17:32","slug":"esearch-pre-interview-plan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/grad.journalism.torontomu.ca\/2019-taylorwest\/esearch-pre-interview-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"RESEARCH + PRE-INTERVIEW PLAN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Project idea overview:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much has been said and written on the topic of fake news,\nand for a good reason. It is one of the most critical social issues of our\ntime. The information age has ushered in a never-ending stream of information\nfrom all over the globe available with the click of a button. The torrid pace,\nthe volume, and the dispersion of news sources have meant that we have never\nbeen more informed and yet misinformed. Journalistic standards that ensure\naccuracy have been unable to keep up. News is \u201cbroken\u201d, and there is no obvious\nsolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the world has never been more in need of reliable\ninformation. Never before has so much of the world population been\nself-governed and in need of accurate information to have effective democracy. Paradoxically,\nit is arguable that the most wealthy and powerful have never had so much wealth\nand power as they do today \u2013 so there is a great need for transparent economies\nto keep them honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topic Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information age and the rise of fake news have also led\nto the creation of eccentric groups and subcultures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People have been quick to lay blame for the cause and\ncreation of fake news. Often, fingers are pointed at special interest groups,\nlobbyists, radicals\/bigots, allegedly corrupt politicians, or dishonest media\ntrolling for clicks. The believers of false information are the pawns that the\nformer prey on to adopt and spread their lies. But dismissing the believers of\nfake news as \u201cuseful idiots\u201d disregards the nuanced and complicated reality of\nthe situation. Commonly held beliefs form the basis for social groups. Groups\nbanded together by common beliefs, true or false, are everywhere. Christians\nand the biblical stories; Republicans and the belief in limited government and\nindividuality; sports fans and the belief that their team is the best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believers in fake news form their own communities too. One\nexample of this is shown in the Netflix documentary Beyond the Curve. The\ndocumentary profiles the main people who support and propagate the flat earth\ntheory. Not only does the documentary detail their beliefs, which are\nelaborate, to explain how the round earth theory is false and how the truth of\nflat earth has been covered up \u2013 it also shows the community of people that has\nbeen created around this belief. The flat earth belief is more than just a\nconspiracy; it also seems like a hobby. It is something that these people enjoy\nbelieving in \u2013 it makes them interesting, it gives them a sense of belonging\nand status within the group. The information age has facilitated the spread of\nthis information but also has allowed people to not feel so ostracised by\nholding these types of beliefs because they can connect with other like-minded\npeople. Within the group, they are respected for their beliefs, and some are\nheralded as ‘exporters’ of flat earth theory. They host talk shows, sell\nmerchandise, and run conferences. However, some of the believers admit that\nthey could, or would, not stop believing in flat earth regardless of any facts\nor discoveries \u2013 they’re in too deep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a scary and fascinating fact about human nature that we\noften prefer to be accepted within a group than to admit truths about the\nworld. Religion has played on this fact for millennia. The flat earth tribe is\nnot the only fake news tribe out there. Although the documentary shows these\ntribal-like behaviors and refusal to accept reality to get in better standing\nwithin the tribe, it stops short of really unpacking this and detailing this\nsubculture as part of the fake news phenomenon. My story will pick up where\nBeyond the Curve left off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Story form:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My story will begin with an investigation of a fake news\nstory and attempt to gain access to the community that has spring up in support\nof this belief. I will focus on this community’s structure and how social\npressures form people’s beliefs. I will also interview psychologists and\nsociologists to make sense of this type of behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second part of my story will be a profile of the\njournalists who focus on combatting fake news and misinformation. Many\njournalists\u2019 careers have become primarily focused on this arduous mission. I\nwill detail how these journalists go about their work in what must seem like a\nnever-ending game of wack-a-mole as they continually refute an avalanche of\nmisinformation with research and evidence. However, the real challenge for them\nmust come when they present clear proof, and yet it is ineffective in stopping\nthe spread of the particular misinformation. What do these journalists do when\npeople’s tribal nature takes precedent in forming beliefs, and community\nacceptance supersedes acknowledging reality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will have a narrative story structure where I report how\nthese two groups behave: the believers of misinformation and the journalists\nwho are trying to combat misinformation. The scenes I observe and write about\nwill be interlaced with background information and context from a comprehensive\nstudy of fake news. In this story, I hope to expose some truths about why\nmisinformation spreads, why people believe it, and what can be done to combat\nit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Primary and secondary sources & human sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My sources will primarily be the people in these two groups\nand the material they produce. The first person I will contact is Craig\nSilverman. On his website, Silverman describes himself as: “an\naward-winning author and journalist and one of the world’s leading experts on\nonline misinformation, fake news, and the attention economy.” He is a\nmedia editor for BuzzFeed news covering the global fake news and misinformation\nbeat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will also contact Jane Lytvynenko from BuzzFeed.\nLytvynenko is a reporter and covers the fake news beat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondary sources will be used to provide background on my\ncharacters and provide greater context on the topic of fake new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See the bibliography below for a list of the sources I will\nbegin with.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Access to principal sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaining access to sources may prove to be the greatest\nchallenge for my MRP. It is critical for my story and yet might prove difficult\nto gain the trust of fake news believers so that I can observe them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope that Silverman or Lytvynenko will lead me to more\nsources by directing me to a community of fake news and refer me to other\njournalists who work the fake news beat. They could also become main characters\nin my story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was in contact with Lytvynenko in December regarding\nanother story, and she was willing to be interviewed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My story idea and structure will start to take shape with\nthese first interviews and continue to change based off what my investigation\nyields. I will be prepared to adapt the story focus and narrative\naccordingly.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporting and production schedule:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Make contacts with journalists on the fake news beat\n(July 8 – 15) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022    The first step is\nto reach out to as many journalists as I can and schedule interviews<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022    Keen attention\nwill be paid to finding more sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Conduct first interviews with sources (July 15 \u2013\nAug. 5)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Write a story outline with scene ideas (July 29 \u2013\nAug. 7)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Meet with advisor (Aug. 8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 5: Rewrite outline & rewrite reporting and\nproduction schedule (Aug. 8 \u2013 12) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 6: Write MRP extended treatment (Aug. 12- 30)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bibliography and Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Craig Silverman. BuzzFeed\n editor. craig@craigsilverman.ca<\/a><\/li>
  2. Jane Lytvynenko. BuzzFeed\n reporter. jane.lytvynenko@buzzfeed.com<\/a><\/li>
  3. Breaking News by\n Alan Rusbridger<\/li>
  4. Beyond the curve Netflix\n documentary<\/li>
  5. Enlightenment now by\n Steven Pinker<\/li>
  6. Lies, Damn Lies and\n Viral Content: How News Websites Spread (and Debunk) Online Rumors,\n Unverified Claims and Misinformation by Craig Silverman<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Project idea overview: Much has been said and written on the topic of fake news, and for a good reason. It is one of the most critical social issues of our time. The information age has ushered in a never-ending stream of information from all over the globe available with the click of a button. … <\/p>\n

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