INTRODUCTION

Scanning for peace and justice articles and news related to our mission and organization is a simple process. Most people get their news from newspapers, magazines, and other publications. However, there is a growing number of individuals who only scan the important news off their computers or by listening to local and national television or radio programs. This article will mainly address publications and will only touch upon other forms of news-gathering.

Scanning and evaluating material on the Internet has been covered in the first published manual produced by this committee. If you did not receive a copy, please contact the board

Credibility is an important facet to sharing news with others and especially our commission. Peace and Justice issues are especially laced with emotion as well as fact and can be extremely vulnerable to bias. Steps will be outlined to avoid, as much as possible, special interest opinions and "stretching of the truth." These steps will help you and committees of the Commission evaluate published material for their objectivity. The same principles apply to publications that come from opposing points of view.

You are welcomed to share any type of peace and justice information; however, a critical analysis should be done of the material and either judged as fairly credible or tinged with some lack of credible facts, before sharing.

Special thanks should be given to Committee members Dan Kirk and Larry Seid for contributions to this manual.

EVALUATING PERIODICALS

Periodicals (also know as serials) are publications printed "periodically." They are published either daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or on an annual basis. The terms periodical, serial, magazine and journal are often used interchangeably; however, there are discernable differences among them them. Regardless of how they are referred to, the most important thing you will need to know about periodicals is how to evaluate one type from another.

General vs. Scholarly Periodicals

Another important skill needed to evaluate periodicals is the ability to distinguish between general periodical publications and academic ones.

Listed below are some overall characteristics of different types of periodical publications to consider. Keep in mind that this is not an extensive list.

Academic/Scholarly/refereed/Peer-reviewed Journals

Academic journals publish two types of articles, scholarly and peer-reviewed (also known as refereed). The most important characteristic of scholarly articles that separate them from general or popular ones is that their data and information have been extensively checked and documented. If a scholarly article has been peer-reviewed, that means it has gone through a process in which a board of experts (usually other academics) have reviewed its contents and decided it was acceptable for publication. Examples of scholarly journals include JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, and the Harvard Business Review.

Other characteristics: · Academic journals contain extensive, lengthy and detailed articles. · Articles are written by specialists and experts doing original research within a particular field of study. · Articles are reviewed and evaluated by other specialists in the field before being published. · Articles are intended for professors, researchers, students , and others academic or professional communities. · Articles written in technical or professional language of the field. · A bibliography is always given at the end of each article. · Usually plain in appearance containing little, if any advertisements.

Popular Publications

The most important thing to remember about popular magazines or journals is that they DO NOT CITE THEIR SOURCES. While they are good sources for background material, one should not expect them to include bibliographies or other cited works for additional reference. Examples of such popular journals would include such publications as Newsweek, US News and World Report, and Vogue.

Other characteristics: · They usually contain colorful photographs, drawings, graphics and advertisements. · They are often attractive in appearance. · Most often they do not cite original sources and get their information second or third hand. · Articles usually give a broad overview of a topic. · The information provided is usually written in an informal and general way that anyone can understand the subject manner. · Articles are usually written by staff writers and other non-specialists. · The main objective of these publications is entertainment, advertising, and marketing of particular viewpoints.

General Interest Publications

General interest periodicals fall into a "gray area." They often possess attributes of both popular and scholarly publications. If you want to use an article from a general interest publication as a source, it is always a good idea to be knowledgeable of their characteristics. Examples of general interest publications include National Geographic, Atlantic Monthly, and Popular Science.

Other characteristics: · They tend to be attractive and heavily illustrated with photographs like popular magazines. · They may or may not cite their sources. · Articles may be written by staff writers or scholars within a particular field. · Articles are written in an intelligent manner for an educated audience, although they are not as academic as those found in scholarly journals. · The main objective of this publication is to inform the reader about a particular topic in an intelligent but understandable manner.

Sensational Publications

Sensational publications are the most popular and wide read journals throughout the world. They also represent a level of journal that should never be used for serious consideration, unless confirmed by other respected sources. Usually these journals run ridiculous and misleading headlines that prove to be untrue. Examples of sensational publications include The National Enquirer, Globe, Star, and Weekly World News.

Other characteristics: · They can be found in both newspaper or magazine format. · The articles are never cited, and usually have no discernable author. · The main objective of sensational journals is to entertain in a gossip-like manner, usually through an attention-grabbing headline.

Adapted by Larry Seid from "How to Evaluate Periodicals," University of Buffalo Libraries

NEWSPAPERS, TELEVISION, AND OTHER INFORMATION

The terrorist attacks against our country have left Americans feeling grieved, angry and bewildered. We turn to our trusted news sources, hoping for a clear, authoritative account of what happened, why it happened and what might happen next. This is a natural response in uncertain times. But in order to begin to understand what is happening, we need to think critically about what the news sources are telling us about these events.

As we all know, even the most impartial or expert writers on world affairs possess a point of view that can determine, subtly or more overtly, the way they talk about their subject. This bias can affect the amount and kinds of information we get access to in the process of forming our own opinions. To compensate for the bias in any one source, it's usually best to track the news from a variety of sources. There are also ways to try to learn more about a particular source.

What is the writer's background?

Some pieces provide background on the writers, giving information about their affiliations and experience. But in many cases, we don't have much information about the people who write the stories we read and see. A search engine like www.google.com can help turn up useful details about an author's background -try using the name and perhaps a keyword from the news article as search terms.

In the case of a website where there is no apparent author or editor, it's still possible to find our what group or organization, if any, is hosting, sponsoring, or otherwise supporting the web site. Often such organizations will have a link on the site. You can also take a look at the e-mail addresses supplied as contacts to see where they might originate.

What is the writer's goal?

Sometimes, the goal of a given piece of news-writing is clear. Editorials, for example are usually opinion pieces. Colorful or emotional language may play a large part in this kind of persuasive writing. News articles have different goals and standards; their purpose is to report facts and relevant data about a situation, and persuasive rhetoric is discouraged.

Bear in mind, though, that writers many not acknowledge their own bias. An opinion piece can be presented as a simple statement of fact. By adopting an objective tone, an author can conceal a partisanship that might, in reality, be distorting the facts in his or her piece. We should always ask what the writer is trying to persuade us to think, feel, or do.

What are the facts?

A piece of persuasive writing, like an editorial or a political speech, can contain surprisingly few facts. A trustworthy factual account will emphasize traceable, verifiable events. To see if the news reports you are reading or watching are trustworthy, ask yourself the following questions: · Are people being quoted out of context? When people are cited in an article or report, is their speech quoted in entire sentences or does it only appear as short phrases or isolated words? · Are statistics and numbers "floating" in the story, or do they have verifiable sources? · Does the author rely on rumor or speculation where verifiable facts are absent?

Brand Name News

It's also important to remember that the "brand-name recognition" we experience with a mainstream news source such as CNN does not guarantee that the news we get from that source is unbiased and complete. Independent media groups and foreign news organizations can supply important perspectives that might be left out by the American mainstream.

(Alameda County Library Research Center; www.aclibrary.org)

POLITICAL WRITTEN PUBLICATIONS

"Political writing, advocacy writing, or editorials are an example of writing where structure and unity may be wildly variable. You never know quite what you are going to get. The structure may be the slimmest of outlines, if existing at all, and there may be no unity at all. It may be a shopping list of unconnected ideas. It proceeds from arguing a point by giving an example and without warning change over into a very personal and ugly attack on someone's character. There may be vague generalities without any supporting points.

Political writing is an example of how people react easily to emotional information compared with the difficulty they have when writing has a lot of numbers. Many people and most media solve this by leaving numbers out of stories, or go to the other extreme and provide such percentages without describing what is a percent of what. A typical error is the lack of clarity when speaking about economic numbers, whether they are compared to the previous month or to the previous year. So it is just easier for people to write emotionally. This means it is important for a discerning reader to determine if that is the kind of material you are reading. You will find it useful to vary how you read something by the way it is written.

Political writing can be considered in terms of "the public forum" where people may express themselves freely, and communicate their beliefs and concerns as part of the ongoing open dialog within our society. You can follow discussions in the public forum as advocates from different sides of an issue throwing opinions back and forth. The unity and structure will appear as long and ongoing reading, covering many different materials that appear over time in different forms of media, so the tools are useful even though one specific article many not clearly stand alone." 
(1) (1) Contributed by Dan Kirk

Other things to consider

The Arvada Peace and Justice Commission is always looking for grants, funding etc. When scanning publications or media, the following may be helpful: · "Be aware of your objective in the external world of any possible funding that may be sought for APJC. · Look for possibilities rather than certainties. · Be aware of changes in the grant/funding world. Indications of change may be events, authorities, advocates, literature, organizations; especially those newly arrived in Denver · 

Scanning should include: a) variety of local and national print media, b) electronic sources including databases, c) sources outside your field e.g. if you are in social services, scan peace and justice articles for additional knowledge, and d) personal networks. · 

Pay attention to statistical data that applies to peace and justice issues. · Watch for formal or informal forecasts by experts, politicians etc." 
(2) (2) Larry Seid

You are welcomed to bring articles of news or ideas on projects you want the commission to consider. We, the committee, hope this manual is helpful in making your decisions on projects, education, and actions.