Feb 22, 2024
St. Bonaventure University students are once again working with PolitiFact Senior Correspondent Louis Jacobson and Jandoli Institute Executive Director Richard Lee to check facts and write articles for PolitiFact.
Jacobson, who is based in Washington, spent three days on campus this week working with the students in person.
“We are proud to welcome Lou back to the Jandoli School of Communication for this transformative experience for our students,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School. “Holding public officials accountable through rigorous fact-checking is vital to our democracy, and PolitiFact is the model. Our students learn so much from this partnership.”
During Jacobson’s visit to campus, students completed the first four articles in this year’s workshop. The students began training online earlier this month and will continue to write stories throughout the semester.
“I always enjoy the opportunity to come to the St. Bonaventure campus to meet the students in our seminar one on one,” Jacobson said. “Being here in person allows us to sit down and work through the reporting, writing and editing together and build a rapport.”
Completed articles appear on PolitiFact and PolitiFact New York, the organization’s New York edition, which is a partnership with the Buffalo News.
The workshop began in 2020 and is offered every spring semester. Prior to this year, students had written 47 articles for PolitiFact. The articles may be accessed at https://jandoli.net/politifact-workshop/.
Founded in 2007, PolitiFact uses traditional journalism techniques to investigate the accuracy of claims in politics, then provides an overall “Truth-O-Meter” rating ranging from True to Pants on Fire. Articles appear on its PolitiFact.com website and are reprinted by its media partners across the country. PolitiFact is owned by the nonprofit Poynter Institute for Media Studies and employs reporters and editors in St. Petersburg, Florida, Washington, D.C., and half a dozen other cities.
The Jandoli Institute, a part of the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure, serves as a forum for academic research, creative ideas and discussion on the intersection between media and democracy.
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