Reflections (Sun Jie Min)

1. Based on your understanding of facts and opinions, why do you think this important to reporters/ journalists in the world of online journalism?

2. How could the limitations explored in one of the articles be controlled?

3. What are some responsibilities of discerning readers?

Facts are true statements while opinions are based on perspective. It is important to write both facts and opinions in articles as readers usually like a fair share of both. With too many facts, the article may seem boring and dull. But with too many opinions, the readers also will not feel interested in the article. The reporter cannot mistake opinions for facts as that will only confuse the readers.

The reporters have to be sure of which are facts and which are opinions, not be biased. They also have to control their language and not be offensive to the readers. This will help to control the limitations in the article.

If the reporters write in reference to some sources, they should refer to reliable sources. They must also double or even triple check their reports to reduce incorrect information. If they use information from unreliable sources, they will also become unreliable and readers will not continue reading the article anymore.