Quiz for Citizen Journalists

Answer Key Below

Below you can find the answers to "Quiz for Citizen Journalists" -- just scroll down and find which ones you got wrong. Then you can explore the rest of the site.

  1. A "fact" is:
    • Something I know to be true.
    • Dependent on the circumstances.
    • Established through research.
    • Completely subjective.
  2. What is the purpose of a citizen journalism story?
    • To gain attention for the writer.
    • To further an agenda, political or otherwise.
    • To create a well-informed community.
    • To rival professional journalism.
  3. What's the difference between advocacy and reporting?
    • Reporting is always objective.
    • There is none; everything is advocacy.
    • Reporting contains no analysis.
    • Advocacy leads the reader, reporting does not.
  4. It is acceptable (and legal) to:
    • Quote an entire story from elsewhere, as long as you give credit.
    • To use someone else's work without credit, as long as you have changed it a little.
    • To quote a public speech in its entirety.
    • To copy a photo from the web for use elsewhere.
  5. It is acceptable to:
    • Deceive someone in the interest of the story.
    • Use photos taken in public without getting authorization.
    • Take pictures through someone's window, as long as you are on the street.
    • Hide your sources, so someone else can't get the story.
  6. For the purposes of dramatizing a story, one may:
    • Leave out the boring parts.
    • Alter a photograph, as long as it doesn't distort the story.
    • Focus on salacious details.
    • Take a personal approach.
  7. How much should you trust a first-person account of an incident?
    • Completely. They were there, weren't they?
    • Only if you trust the teller.
    • Not at all. Everything is subjective.
    • Only when it dovetails with other information.
  8. Should you let subjects of stories see them before publication?
    • Never. They might demand changes, biasing the story.
    • Whenever possible.
    • Only if there is a "he said/she said" aspect.
    • Always. A story should never go out without permission from the subject.
  9. Statistics...
    • Should be taken at face value. They are numbers, after all.
    • come after lies, and damned lies.
    • need to be approached with caution: they can fool you.
    • Are no concern to the citizen journalist.
  10. What special rights does a citizen journalist have?
    • All of those granted to any journalist.
    • None. Journalism itself is a right of the people.
    • Special entry to government buildings and access to officials.
    • Protection of sources, guaranteed by the federal government.

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