Fake News vs. Real News – and how to tell the difference
Sometimes the stories are made up, like "Pope Francis endorses Donald Trump." Sometimes they're politicians' spin, like dueling claims of lawmakers in Tallahassee and Gov. Rick Scott over money for economic development. And sometimes, they're flat-out lies. As more and more of us expand our news sources – going beyond newspapers and broadcast media to websites, Facebook and Twitter -- we're running into more and more stories that raise questions. Fake News? Real news? Something in between? And how do you tell the difference?
Join the First Amendment Foundation and the Tallahassee Democrat for an evening with professionals -- Joshua Gillin from PolitiFact, which won a Pulitzer Prize for its fact-checking; WFSU News Director Lynn Hatter; Tampa Bay Times bureau chief Steve Bousquet; and Democrat Editor William Hatfield -- who'll talk about what you can do to identify where a story comes from, and what’s behind it.
Tickets: $15 [Click the REGISTER NOW button at the bottom of this page to register.]
Panelists: William Hatfield (Tallahassee Democrat), Joshua Gillin (PoltiFact & Tampa Bay Times), Lynn Hatter (WFSU) & Steve Bousquet (Tampa Bay Times)
Moderator: Bill Cotterell, veteran reporter and Tallahassee Democrat columnist
Bios:
William Hatfield is the new editor of the Tallahassee Democrat. (He’s clinging to that word new even though he’s been at the job for almost two years). He has been a Floridian for 16 years and in a former life was the editor of the Northwest Florida Daily News, Destin Log and Walton Sun. He is a passionate evangelist for local news and the newspaper acting as a bridge in the community. An Illinois native, he graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and got his master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Joshua Gillin is a staff writer for PolitiFact Florida and the Tampa Bay Times. He previously was a reporter, editor and blogger for tbt*, the daily tabloid edition of the Times, and has written about media news for The Poynter Institute. A Nebraska native, he has a degree in journalism from his home state university and is a diehard Cornhusker. He has worked in many writing and editing capacities in news, sports and features at the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Savannah (Ga.) Morning News and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Steve Bousquet is Tallahassee bureau chief of the Tampa Bay Times, Florida's largest daily newspaper. He has covered every session of the state Legislature since 1988 and has covered the past seven governors. He joined the Times in 2001 after 17 years as a reporter at The Miami Herald, where he covered state and local government and politics. He was a contributor to two editions of The Almanac of Florida Politics and holds a master's degree in history from Florida State University.
Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lynn has been a member of the WFSU news team since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas. She is an award-winning member of the Capital Press Corps and has participated in the NPR Kaiser Health News Reporting Partnership and NPR Education Initiative.
Bill Cotterell grew up in Miami and began with the United Press International wire service, working in the Carolinas, Alabama, Atlanta and Florida 1967-85. Cotterell joined the Tallahassee Democrat in 1985 and retired in 2012, but continues to write his twice-weekly column on state government and politics.
