who are you quoting?

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Before broadcasting the latest news over Twitter, or before citing that journal article in the draft of a scientific paper, consider who you are quoting. That is the reminder being sent to us by John Gregerson in his article entitled "Truth, Lies, and Rumors in the Media: Consider the Source", published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

In the article, he cited several examples of others preempting the deaths of famous people. I am happy that the people I follow on Twitter appear to be aware of the importance of "the source". A few days ago, Rodolfo Vera Quizon, Sr, the Philippine Comedy King, passed on. Before he died, people had been spreading rumors (or misinformation) that he had died at a much earlier time. But there were those who preferred to wait for the official statement coming from one of his sons, Eric Quizon, before posting their tweet-tributes about Dolphy and their condolences.

Aside from celebrity news, scientific discoveries are sometimes being played up by media. Two examples: Ever heard about polished rice being an unhealthy food because those who eat it are more at risk of developing diabetes type 2? Or how about the news articles that say that there are rice varieties that don't contribute to diabetes type 2? How about the never ending debate about whether red wine is good or bad for the heart? And don't get me started with the monosodium glutamate issue... or the studies about artificial sweeteners. The list goes on and on...

Confused?

Yes? Good.

With so many conflicting studies out there, relying solely on these news media outfits as sources of information is risky. The media is what can be considered a secondary source; not necessarily the best reference material for scholarly work. And I emphasize the term scholarly. For other purposes, media reports are some of the best sources of information.

So, how do we decide whether to accept a news article at face value or with a grain of salt? Gregerson gives us a few pointers. I'm putting three of them here, those pointers that I also learned in Advanced English class (in high school). Consider the following:
1. Who is the news article quoting or citing?
2. Who has written the article?
3. Is there a conflict of interest?
To read more about the article, here are the details:

Gregerson, J. 2012. Truth, lies, and rumors in the media: Consider the source. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 112 (5): 602.


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