How to fact-check a podcast
We publish Vocal Fridays every week, straight to your inbox.
Subscribe below to get it straight outta the frying pan!
Is anyone else absolutely exhausted?
Maybe it’s the muggy weather we’re experiencing here in Nova Scotia—it feels like I’m in the tropics. Yes, I’m talking about the weather. No, I don’t really have much else to say. When Michal is away, I feel like a kid waiting for their mom to come back to the grocery store checkout.
I’m also a bit preoccupied this week because I moonlight as a fact-checker for various magazines and publications and I’m quite busy.
I find it extremely satisfying, though I’m sure it’s some people’s worst nightmare. There’s something about checking every single word in an article and eventually highlighting it green that makes me really happy. It also gives my writing brain a day off, which is lovely.
I’ve actually never fact-checked a podcast before, and I was curious if it’s any different than magazine checking. Let’s find out.
For this week’s Big Fry, I reached out to (my best friend) Sean Young. He’s a former Walrus Editorial Fellow who has checked both magazine articles and audio. Taught me everything I know. But I wanted to pick his brain on how to check podcasts. I love friends who pick up the phone when I call!
How do you interpret fact from opinion in the tone of a podcast, which can be more conversational or laid back?
You really just have to use your discretion–it’s a lot like written fact checking in that way. But when you're checking a magazine article, you're usually dealing with a story that's more fact or reporting dense. If it is an opinion piece, it's still smart to check out that background info to make sure that your source is fact-accurate.
Checking a podcast, you should almost work from a position of treating it like it’s an opinion piece—even if it’s fully scripted. In a back and forth conversation, somebody may go off script, state their opinion, or rephrase something factual in their own way. Use your best judgment to figure out which pieces can be interpreted by the listener as someone's own opinion, and which pieces need to be amended to be fact-accurate. Overall, you want your host and guests to come off as well-informed and accurate.
What do you do if you come across something that is literally just incorrect?
Flag it with your producer. If you are the main producer, you want to make sure that you're always treating your guests and your hosts with due diligence. Then make the best call you can based on the intent of your guests or your host. If you’re getting the idea that it was something they would have liked to be corrected on, this might be a good time to possibly insert some extra narration into the piece to provide some more correct context. You can do this while still sticking to the journalistic integrity of that conversation or interview, without changing the actual content of it. The goal is to ultimately provide your listenership with the correct information.
If people are just speaking their minds, why do we need to check?
Even if people are speaking their minds in a conversation-style podcast, it’s smart to check out what they’re saying. For example, I listen to podcasts about Drag Race, and they’re usually just conversations. But sometimes things actually do need to be fact checked. Say, for example, a guest mentions how many lip syncs Trinity K Bonet won in her run on Drag Race. You still want to make sure that number is correct, even if it seems like a tiny instance, or something that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the podcast. You want to give your hosts and guests a fair shot at sharing the information that they want to get across.
Right. So what can you actually do about fixing something like that from a podcast production perspective?
So in that instance, you could provide more narration. You could rescript things on the back end, or you can give that factoid to another speaker in your podcast. You could re-record that part, if it's not going to change the journalistic integrity or intent of the story.
Anything else podcasters should know about fact-checking?
Fact-checking really enhances people's perceptions of podcasts. I feel like people assume that podcasts aren't fact checked, but many production companies have dedicated fact-checkers that work behind the scenes. With the audio, scripts, and transcripts in front of you, it allows you to really shift through individual facts and make sure that everything is accurate, and the information going out to your listenership is actually correct. Because that's really the goal of fact checking, whether it’s a magazine article, a news article, or a podcast.
Wealthsimple is hiring a News Writer for Wealthsimple Magazine. The writer/editor will be in charge of their newsletter! It’s Toronto-based (or remote, in Canada) and full-time, permanent position. They’re looking for someone with 5 years of experience in an editorial role. Salary is 90k-110k.
Concordia is hiring a full-time investigative reporter at their Institute for Investigative Journalism. Check out their website.
Betakit is hiring a full-time reporter. It’s a salaried position with benefits, and it’s remote (preferably based outside of Ontario!) So if you’re big into Canadian startup and tech innovation news, this could be great for you.
CBC Ottawa is hiring a full-time, permanent reporter/editor. French is required for this one.
Global Halifax is hiring a digital broadcast journalist. (Also, if you’re a Hali-based journalist, please be my friend!)
The Globe and Mail has quite a few editorial openings right now. Check out their job board to see more details on the following positions: data editor, deputy visuals editor, head of newsroom development, and reporter.
NY-based journos, Pitchfork is hiring an associate staff writer.
Tired of explaining how to record remote interviews? Melody Rowell of Yellow Armadillo Studios has a video on that. It’s five minutes long and it's specifically for people who don’t have high-tech equipment—all you need is wired headphones, a smartphone, and a laptop.
You’re on Twitter, I’m sure, but are you using it to find gigs? You should be! Maybe this is common information, but when I’m looking to pitch a story ideas in the journo world, I use Twitter’s search function and type in things like: "accepting pitches" "looking for writers" "pitch me" "looking for pitches" "taking pitches" "calls for pitches" "open for pitches" and "pitching guidelines." Bonus Twitter tip: Cruise around the #journojobs hashtag, there’s lots of stuff going on over there!
Another thing, editors on Twitter often tweet about stories they’re looking for. Don’t waste your time crafting a beautiful pitch about Lorde’s new album if that editor doesn’t cover music or pop culture, okay? Also, if you’ve been pitching stories and nothing is sticking, read this piece from Nieman Lab, How to successfully pitch The New York Times (or, well, anyone else), and then read this Twitter thread from Jessica Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Walrus.
Well, I wanted to pretend that I’m listening to Poynter’s 2018 podcast (Mis)informed, because that would have been so fitting. (It explores fact-checking and misinformation, and I listened to it a couple of years ago.) In reality, I’ve been listening to a podcast that’s much less serious, The Nikki Glaser Podcast. My sister is a big fan of Nikki, and she plays episodes while we drive in the car. The infamous roaster and comedian puts out an episode every Monday through Thursday, and though it’s a bit absurd and ridiculous, sometimes that’s just what ya need. It was kind of the soundtrack to our summer; we listened while driving all around Cape Breton Island, up to Halifax, and on shorter stints to visit family. It makes the drives go by faster, and I get to laugh with my sister. What could be better?
We’re cooking up a few things here at Vocal Fry!
The newest episode of Well Said features OB/GYN Dr. Jen Gunter, a fearless advocate for women’s health.
She talks about debunking misinformation and empowering women.
New project alert! Producer Ren Bangert and Katie have been working with external composer Stefana Fratila to make an esoteric teaser for a new season of Artists-in-Presidents: Transmissions to Power. Transmissions are released every Friday until the end of the year!
Leader in sustainable power (and famous Cape Bretoner) Annette Verschuren is on the newest episode of Building Good.
She talks about how her company is providing energy storage solutions across Canada.
We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.
Thanks to Katie Jensen for designing this newsletter.
We’ll see you again on August 27. Until then, assistant producer Kattie Laur saw a deer camping in Killbear Provincial Park. Here’s the deer in question.
Yours in friends and fries,
Emily
