Discussion Questions_Kovach&Rosenstile6-7_Mann

            In chapter 6, the book talks about Seymour Hersh.  He says that he learned that you “Don’t write anything, you don’t know for sure.”  Than why do you think that cable news networks don’t always follow this? Why do they deliver breaking news that sometimes isn’t true, instead of verifying it first like the Coast Guard boat on the Potomac story?

2.     It talks about looking at evidence in a “show me” or trust me” age of information.  What do you believe is the right way to judge evidence?  Can you trust a well-known source or not and why? Also how can we go about making sure the facts are evidence, not inference?

3.     Why do you believe that when some people make absurd assertions, the interviewer does not try to ask where they have received this information?

The book raises two reasons why the journalists are more passive.  What one do you think it is.   Is it because the interview is live or taped and they can’t check facts for accuracy, or is it because the person being interviewed can talk about prepared statement and can toss out quest