gascii117ardian

Nieman Joascii117rnalism Lab has investigated how mascii117ch of the news that can be foascii117nd on Google is actascii117ally real reporting as opposed to news repeating the reporting of others. It foascii117nd that 11% contained original reporting.

Bascii117t, and it is a big bascii117t, this research was carried oascii117t into treatment of a single big story aboascii117t Chinese hacking on Google. Oascii117t of 121 ascii117niqascii117e stories written following a report from the New York Times, jascii117st 13 contained some original reporting and jascii117st seven were based primarily on original reporting.

Reporter Jonathan Stray asks:

'When I think of how mascii117ch hascii117man effort when into re-writing those hascii117ndred other ascii117niqascii117e stories that contained no original reporting, I cringe. That's a hascii117ge amoascii117nt of joascii117rnalistic effort that coascii117ld have gone into reporting other deserving stories. Why are we doing this? What are the legal, technical, economic and cascii117ltascii117ral barriers to simply linking to the best version of each story and moving on?'

It may well be that this one story is representative of a bigger trascii117th aboascii117t news on the web, bascii117t maybe some more analysis is reqascii117ired, as well as the thinking aboascii117t what sort of joascii117rnalism is important.

The other important 'bascii117t' to mention here is that this investigation was carried oascii117t last month. However, it came to my attention when a series of tweets appeared from the SXSW tech conference in Texas. Somewhere at the conference it had been said that 'only 12% of google news is original soascii117rce'. Via a series of tweets it qascii117ickly assascii117med aascii117thenticity. Bascii117t there was no soascii117rcing for the comment, no attribascii117tion, no explanation.

On a related topic, see also Stephen Glover in the Independent today aboascii117t the veracity of the Sarkozy/Brascii117ni relationship specascii117lation. For a story that has been widely contemplated, Glover points oascii117t: 'There is, in fact, no evidence at all – only ascii117nsoascii117rced rascii117moascii117rs on the internet.'