Popular Sources
Why Should I Care?
Popular sources can be very helpful in your research process, and maybe even as a source for your paper. You need to be careful about using them because they can be full of issues.
This lesson has 4 parts
- Definitions
- Evaluating Grey Literature
- Freedom of Expression
- Issues with Popular Sources
What are Popular Sources?
Popular sources are all around us. They include news programs on TV and radio, newspapers, magazines, as well user-generated media like Facebook and TikTok. These sources can be very useful, credible, and valid. They can also be useless, unreliable, and invalid. It is important to understand their readership, their business structure, and their editorial process to better evaluate them.
Video
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Definitions
Here are some basic terms you need to become a great researcher.
Bias
A tendency to show one side of the story over any other aspects.
Academic Literature
Journals publishing articles with blind peer-review process. Submitted to ethical codes of discipline associations and universities. No advertising.
Grey Literature
Serious non-academic sources of information. Includes good print magazines, and newspapers, as well as digital news media such as radio, TV and internet. Ex: The New York Times, The Economist, Le Devoir, Le Monde, El Pais.
Journalism
The role of journalists is to accurately report, analyze, and in some cases, comment on the facts that help their fellow citizens understand the world in which they live (FPJQ).
News Media
Print subscription magazines, and newspapers. Digital: radio, TV and internet. That produce NEWS, which is media content intended to inform the public on important events. News content should not be associated to advertising in any way.
News Agencies
A news agency is an organization that produces news reports and sells them to client news media, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire, or news service. Agence France-Presse, Canadian Press/Presse Canadienne, Associated Press (US).
Trade Journals
Magazines and websites devoted to specific trades such as Mechanical Engineering, Tobacco Farming, Gold Mining, etc. Distributed only to professionals. Advertising heavy.
Opinion Journalism
Opinionated media content mostly on TV and online. Presents itself as journalism but is following a biased editorial position. Lack of transparency most of the time. Includes political talking-heads such as Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson, Ezra Levant, Aaron Gunn. Includes also commercial bloggers and influencers who ‘review’ products online.
Propaganda
the spreading of ideas, information, or rumour for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person (Merriam-Webster). May be produced by the government, an industry group, a corporation, a political lobby, or any other organization.
Yellow Press
Old term. Referred to low quality paper used to print fake-news tabloids. Expression: Presse Jaune, Jaunisme. Nowadays mostly conspiracy websites.
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Evaluating Grey Literature
What are the criteria that sets trustable sources apart? Let's look at their financial interest, the ethics of their process and how they present their content.
Financial Interest
Publications need money to publish. The economic model of the publication may be problematic if the publication is used for political reasons. The identity of owners and investors should be made public, and not kept secret. The publication should publish the ownership in its Masthead (or on the About Us page of the website).
Ethical Process
The whole process of writing articles should follow a strict ethical guide, which is known as a Code of Ethics (or deontology). For academic work, the code is established by the university and/or the disciplinary association responsible for publishing journals. For example, the American Psychology Association (APA) publishes its code of ethics on its website. Serious news organizations will also follow a code of ethics, however this is done on a voluntary basis.
Ethical Presentation
The publication itself should avoid mixing genres. It is crucial that factual information be presented separately from opinion, and especially from advertisements. Academic journals are extreme versions of this separation because they do not publish opinion pieces, nor advertising. This usually is only possible if the publications’ revenue stream is exclusively made up of subscriptions.
Criteria for Credible Media
|
Criteria |
Academic Journal |
Serious News |
Opinion |
Fake News |
User generated |
|
Financial Interest |
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Authors are unpaid |
X |
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|
X |
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Not-for-Profit |
X |
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Subscription based |
X |
X |
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Per copy-purchase |
|
X |
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Advertising revenue |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Ownership disclosed |
X |
X |
Sometimes |
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Ethical Process |
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Peer Review |
X |
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Reveal Conflicts Interests |
X |
X |
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Author allowed dissent |
X |
X |
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|
X |
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Author biography |
X |
X |
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Author ethics code |
X |
X |
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Correct errors |
X |
X |
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Ethical Presentation |
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Label Ads Clearly |
No Ads |
X |
X |
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No deceptive titles |
X |
X |
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No false content |
X |
X |
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Separate Opinion |
X |
X |
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Many of the criteria in the previous table were taken from a service called NewsGuard, which is a paid service for universities and other institutions. NewsGuard is a rating service that evaluates, with thorough research, the credibility of most of the news media available online. Credible sources like The New York Times are rated green because they generally adhere to standards of credibility and transparency. A fake-news website such as Rebel Media gets a red label, as it fails to meet basic standards of credibility and transparency.
NewsGuard identifies satire and humour websites with a separate label. The service also keeps an eye on user-generated media platforms like Wikipedia and Facebook, but they don’t rate them as news media.
https://www.newsguardtech.com/ratings/rating-process-criteria/
Is your media trustworthy?
Which media do you get your news from? Is it trust-worthy?
|
Media |
Raging Headlines |
Make Corrections |
Balanced Reporting |
Advertising Revenue |
Subscription |
|
CBC |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Global |
|
X |
X |
X |
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CTV |
|
X |
X |
X |
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Rebel News |
X |
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X |
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Fox |
X |
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X |
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CBS |
|
X |
X |
X |
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PBS |
|
X |
X |
|
X |
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Montreal Gazette |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
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La Presse |
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X |
X |
X |
X |
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Le Devoir |
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X |
X |
X |
X |
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Journal de Montréal |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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TVA |
|
X |
X |
X |
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Radio-Canada |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
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QUB Radio |
X |
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X |
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Radio-X |
X |
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X |
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98.5 FM |
X |
X |
X |
X |
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Wikipedia |
|
X |
X |
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X |
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YOUR NEWS |
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Freedom of Expression
A healthy democracy needs to protect the freedom of expression of everyone in society. Of course there are different ways to do this, because excessive freedom can lead to violence. Canada is different from the US in this regard, as it legislates against hate speech. This said, it is important to have healthy institutions where this freedom of expression is protected and encouraged, such as universities.
Here are some definitions.
Freedom of Expression
The ability of an individual or group of individuals to express their beliefs, thoughts, ideas, and emotions about different issues free from censorship by government or other persons, groups, or organizations.
- In Canada, The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms stipulates that Free Expression is a right of all citizens in section 2(b).
- In Canada, freedom of expression is limited in the cases of defamatory libel and hate speech, which are crimes under federal law. Hate speech is also regulated by the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC). TV and radio stations can have their licences revoked for hate mongering.
- https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art2b.html
Defamatory Libel
A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is published. Criminal Code section 298 (1).
Hate Speech
In Canada, the Criminal Code specifies three separate hatred-related offences: section 318 (advocating genocide), section 319(1) (publicly inciting hatred likely to lead to a breach of the peace), and section 319(2) (wilfully promoting hatred). In addition there are provisions which authorize the courts to order the seizure of hate propaganda, either in physical formats (section 320) or in electronic formats (section 320.1).
Academic Freedom
Defined in most college/university labour agreements as being a protection against dismissal or loss of work, due to dissenting views, opinions, or political actions, whether pronounced in the classroom, in academic journals, in conferences, or in the media at large. A contractual right to free speech is granted to tenured professors. This right may or may not be granted to non-tenured instructors, teaching assistants, lecturers, and other staff of the institution. Some institutions limit their professor's right to criticize their employer.
Democracy and Freedom of Speech
Free speech is important for democracy for a few reasons. It allows dissent towards people and institutions of power, such as large corporations, religion, and the government. This dissent allows for human dignity and for the dissemination of the truth for the general well-being of population. It also allows for the spread of good ideas and proper feedback, which is needed by all social, political and economic systems.
Free press is important for democracy because it acts as an accelerant of free speech. It allows the general distribution of facts at great speed. For example, investigative journalism, and viral social media have been key factors in the dissemination of truths, such as the political corruption scandals in Quebec, or of tragic events such as the deaths in 2020 of Joyce Echaquan, in a Joliette hospital, and of George Floyd in the USA. Without free press, it is very easy for governments, corporations or institutions to cover up any wrong doings.
Science and Freedom of Academic Discourse
Academic freedom is important for science because the research of truth hinges on the curiosity and fearlessness of scientists who are willing to contradict present-day theories and present-day knowledge. Science cannot advance without this constant tug and pull between what we know or believe to be true, and what might be discovered by research. Scientists must be free to explore divergent hypotheses, and try to test them with empirical data, to help uncover new understandings of the universe and our social world.
There are truly few realms of professions where freedom of speech is actually guaranteed to a worker. Here is an excerpt of the collective agreement of all Cégep teachers in Quebec, which applies to Dawson College.
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2015-2020 – Collective Agreement – Quebec Colleges (Cégeps) Article 2-3.00 - Non-discrimination 2-3.01 Neither the College nor the Union may directly or indirectly threaten, coerce, discriminate against or make unfair distinctions with respect to a professor on the basis of his/her race, ethnic origin, nationality, age, civil status, social condition, state of parenthood, family ties, beliefs, sex, sexual orientation, state of pregnancy, physical handicap, opinions or political actions, or because he/she has exercised the right to teach or fulfilled an obligation granted to or imposed on him/her by the collective agreement or by the law. Source : https://dtu.qc.ca/your-rights/collective-agreement/ |
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Issues with Popular Sources
There are particular issues you need to be aware of when dealing with grey sources, such as Wikipedia, and the News media.
Wikipedia
This website is great for initial research. But you cannot cite Wiki pages. They can be inaccurate, and altered after you consult them.
Language on Wiki also matters. For example, see the wiki page for Honoré Beaugrand, mayor of Montreal in 1885. The English page has just a few paragraphs and no details about his positions on the Louis Riel crisis, the smallpox epidemic, or his time in Mexico.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_Beaugrand
If you search for the same topic on the French language wiki page, there is much more information. The webpage is really long, as you can see with the scroll bar on the right hand side, and includes much more references. For example, the French language page includes a section on the Louis Riel affair, in which case Beaugrand actually organized a banquet in Montreal for the British soldiers on their return from quashing the Métis rebellion.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_Beaugrand
News Media Sources in Montreal
Newspapers are often controlled by news barons for ideological, or realpolitik reasons. In Canada, most newspapers belong to the Postmedia Network, including the National Post, but there are exceptions such as the Toronto Star. In Montreal, the press is divided along many axes, such as language, nationalism, and political ideology.
| Newspaper |
Editorial Position |
Ownership |
| Le Devoir | French, nationalist, Centre-Left | Owned by multiple partners, and the CSN Union |
| Le Journal de Montréal | French, nationalist, Centre-Right |
Owned by Péladeau family (also TVA, Vidéotron, etc.) |
| La Presse | French, federalist, Centre-Right |
Coop, owned by staff (prev. Desmarais family) |
| The Montreal Gazette | English, federalist, Centre-Right | Owned by Postmedia Network (Paul Godfrey) |
Code of ethics
In Quebec, most newspapers, radio, and TV news organizations follow the Code of Ethics published by the provincial industry assocation, the Fédération professionelle des journalistes du Québec (FPJQ). Other organisations, such as the CBC, also have similar codes.
Some of these rules are:
- Journalists should never pay a source for information
- Journalists should never share their information with the police
- Journalists should never accept gifts, money or trips in exchange for a story
- Headlines and introductions of articles should not exaggerate or lead to misinterpretation
- A rumour cannot be published unless it originates from a credible source and contributes to the understanding of an event. It must always be identified as a rumour. In the judicial field (crime news), the publication of rumours is prohibited.
- Journalists must not identify the victims of sexual aggression or the people close to them.
These rules are not imposed on journalists, they are voluntary. Also, these rules may be contrary to specific laws, such as in the case of sharing information with the police. In the case of radio and tv journalists, they must also abide by the rules of CRTC which can result in the loss of a broadcasting licence.
References and Further Reading
FPJQ. (2023). Guide de déontologie. Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec. https://www.fpjq.org/fr/guide-de-deontologie
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