I approached this assignment in the same way I root for sports teams: I chose the two news sites that had the most appealing names, Arizona Silver Belt and Arizona Mirror. Starting with Arizona Silver Belt, I began to apply the “Trust Indicators”.
- Best Practices
As I began searching for information about who controls Arizona Silver Belt, I immediately noticed that the website was riddled with advertisements. It seemed like every time I closed an ad window, a new one popped up elsewhere. Regardless, I was able to find a “contact us” page that revealed the following information:
(screenshot of contacts)
Digging deeper into the staff of Arizona Silver Belt with the SIFT approach, I discovered that the publisher, Mike Caywood, is actually an employee of a larger company called “News Media Corporation”. The company claims to have ten printing plants and 34 newspaper offices operating in nine different states. Andrea Justice, the editor, seems to be a fellow student at Arizona State University, but she doesn’t have much of an online footprint. David Sowders, the assistant editor, claims on his LinkedIn profile that he has over 8 years of of experience in journalism. This is somewhat reassuring, but Celine Dion has WAY more than eight years of experience as a vocalist, and I am highly unimpressed by her; so, it is possible that Sowders’ experience is not evidence of his skill (…I offer my apologies to any die-hard Celine Dion fans, but not Celine Dion herself because she is rich and I believe her heart will go on.) - Journalist Expertise
Clicking through a few articles on the site, I noticed that several are published by members of the Associated Press. In addition, the news site has a link that directs users to a magazine about Arizona’s outdoors called The Copper Corridor. This made me feel that the site might just be a front for a larger media company. I think this company is most likely the News Media Corporation (the same company that Mike Caywood works for.) - Labels
Each story seems to be properly labeled and categorized. Even though the site itself is a bit of a jumble, the articles don’t have click-bait titles and they appear to be based upon verified facts. One article on the front page is titled, “US Gas Prices Tick Up, Ending 99-Day Streak of Lower Costs”. This title doesn’t persuade readers in any way, but it does share reasonable information about the article. This suggests that the organization values sharing information without coercing their users, which is a good sign. - References
The lack of references on the Arizona Silver Belt’s site is a bit of a red flag. Even though the website acknowledges the work of members of the Associated Press, I couldn’t find any articles that contained hyperlinks to sources, nor a “Works Cited” page. This is concerning because readers can’t easily cross-check the information shared by the news site. - Methods
I could not find evidence of any specific methods used for reporting. - Locally Sourced
Googling the provided names of the company’s leaders on the contact page revealed that the employees (or at least the higher-ups) live in Arizona. This is a good sign because our professor has argued that those who are familiar with the communities they are reporting in will do a more thorough/accurate job in telling the stories of the people and events which exist within them - Diverse Voices
When I clicked on the “Front Page” link in the news site’s menu I was directed to a series of articles arranged similarly to the front page of a hard copy newspaper. I noticed that there were no pictures of POC, with the exception of those attending a STAND (Standing Together Against Narcotics and Drugs) meeting. Although one could argue that those affected by substance abuse disorders are often the oppressed https://www.marylandmacs.org/media/SOM/Microsites/MACS/Documents/Systemic-Racism-and-SUDs.pdf, there are also plenty of POC who are living lives that are not plagued by drug addiction. It is important to consider what may be the results of providing POC with limited and, arguably, biased representation in the media. - Actionable Feedback
The site offers polls and surveys as a way of gaining insight on their readers’ perspectives, but some of these polls are ads that direct readers to a new and unrelated webpage.
Overall, Arizona Silver Belt appears to be a legitimate news site, but an unappealing one. The advertisements make it difficult and annoying to navigate, but the articles themselves seem to be reporting on real news. My guess is that several of the News Media Corporation’s sites are laid out in similar ways—to create the highest potential for ad-clicks (even if they’re accidental). Next up, Arizona Mirror.
- Best Practices
Jim Smalls, the Editor-in-Chief of Arizona Mirror, claims to have almost 20 years of reporting and journalistic experience. The outlet’s website explains that the news site is a part of a larger non-profit organization, States Newsroom (States Newsroom) , but “retains full editorial independence.” (Arizona Mirror) However, regardless of the site’s constructed image of professionalism, the articles’ headlines suggest that the Mirror’s credibility should be questioned. They feature click-bait titles such as, “A Seismic Change Has Taken Place in the Supreme Court—but it’s Not Clear if the Shift is About Principle or Party”. On the plus side, there are no ads, but almost anybody could pay to have a website that functions ad-free. As obnoxious as ads may be, they don’t seem to be symptomatic of an inaccurate news site. - Journalist Expertise
Each article provides a thorough bio of the author. - Labels
Although the stories are categorized properly, they all have click-bait titles. This suggests that the organization places a high value on clicks, which readers should consider. Prioritizing clicks could ultimately dismiss the value of the truth. - References
Certain articles, like this one, that details how some ignorant politician folk don’t have the capacity to provide clarity over whether or not women have rights, do contain hyperlinks. However, these hyperlinks direct readers to articles written for Arizona Mirror, rather than academic journals and peer-reviewed sources verifying the provided information. - Methods
The Mirror has a thorough ethics page, which explains the methods they use in reporting. - Locally Sourced
Almost all of the writers for Arizona Mirror seem to be from Arizona, - Diverse Voices
The writers of Arizona Mirror are relatively diverse: they are Native, white, and Latinx. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have any Black writers. However, Native and Latinx populations are dense in Arizona. - Actionable Feedback
Arizona Mirror does not offer its readers an option to contact its team.
I was pleasantly surprised by the general validity of both of my chosen sites. I probably wouldn’t chose them as a source of news myself (because I hate both ads and clickbait), but I acknowledge that they aren’t spewing complete misinformation. I think the best thing these sites can do to make themselves more trustworthy is to eliminate ads and click-bait titles. Those two characteristics raise red flags in my brain, whether they are reasonable or not. For me, both ads and click-bait come across as tacky, and I can’t rationalize their use when considering credibility. I realize that I am essentially asserting that my own site is tacky, but this is not something I deny. A site riddled with ads leaves a poor first impression, but removing ads costs money, and I don’t have any of that. But, hey—why bother having money when you can experience the thrill of living paycheck to paycheck?
Wandering Woman 