:47:02
A three-day torture test.
:47:04
lf your article's good,
the process will only make it better.
:47:07
lf your article's shaky,
you're in for a long week.
:47:10
A story comes in,
and it goes to a senior editor.
:47:12
He, or she, edits it
on computer,
:47:15
then calls in the writer,
who makes revisions.
:47:17
Then the piece goes to a second editor,
and the writer revises it again.
:47:20
Then it goes through a fact-check,
where every fact in the piece--
:47:23
every date, every title,
:47:26
every place or assertion
is checked and verified.
:47:28
Then the piece goes to a copy editor,
where it is scrutinized once again.
:47:31
Then it goes to lawyers,
who apply their own burdens of proof.
:47:34
Marty looks at it too. He's very
concerned with any kind of comment
:47:37
the magazine is making.
:47:39
Then Production takes it, and lays
it out into column inches and type.
:47:42
Then it goes back on paper,
then back to the writer,
:47:44
back to the copy editor,
back to editor number one,
:47:46
and editor number two, back to
the fact-checker, back to the writer,
:47:50
and back to Production again.
:47:52
Throughout, those lawyers
are reading and re-reading,
:47:54
looking for red flags,
anything that feels uncorroborated.
:47:57
Once they're satisfied, the pages
are reprinted and it all happens again.
:48:01
Every editor, the fact-checkers--
they all go through it one last time.
:48:06
Now, most of you will start out
as interns somewhere.
:48:10
And interns do a lot of fact checking,
so pay close attention.
:48:14
There's a hole
in the fact-checking system.
:48:18
A big one.
:48:20
The facts in most pieces can be checked
against some type of source material.
:48:25
lf an article's on,
say, ethanol subsidies,
:48:28
you could check for discrepancies
against the Congressional Record,
:48:30
trade publications,
LexisNexis,
:48:33
and footage from C-SPAN.
:48:35
But on other pieces,
:48:38
the only source material
available
:48:41
are the notes provided
by the reporter himself.
:48:45
Steve?
:48:48
This doesn't look like
a real business card to me.
:48:51
Yeah, l know.
That's the kind of clown this guy is.
:48:54
He won't even pay
to have real cards made.
:48:56
All right.