PolitiFact represents a way for traditional media to stay viable. Citing Richard Edelman's aptly named Media "Clover Leaf" as discussed during a keynote speech at Marquette explaining how resources have changed. According to Edelman, media is now made up of four components that impact public engagement - Mainstream, New, Social and Owned. Notably, new media groups HuffingtonPost and ProPublica have recently been honored with Pulitzer Prizes. |
Umhoefer described the PolitiFact process using Michael Moore as his example. Moore's comment during a speech he gave in Madison during the protests in March of 2011 is the single most viewed PolitiFact report - ever. Reporters begin their research by contacting the party responsible for the comment and requesting their sources. From there, PolitiFact reporters will follow up on all research and then do their own. All sources are cited and an extensive analytical article is written. The volume of data that can be uncovered by following up on a single sentence is AMAZING - and that's no lie! |