http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/mcintyre/blog/2007/10/prone_to_error.ht...
Quality of the support. Who or what actually backs up the source? Is the person a figure of credibility? Does the person verifying the source have an interest in the statement? Have reliable reference works been cited? Better not mention Wikipedia.
Copy editors as well as reporters live by the motto of the Chicago's City News Bureau: IF YOUR MOTHER SAYS SHE LOVES YOU, CHECK IT OUT.
Tom French, a reporter at the St. Petersburg Times with a national reputation, makes it his practice to go over the final draft of each story he writers, marking each statement of fact and confirming to his own satisfaction that he can vouch for the accuracy of each one.
- d.