News Goggles: Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times

Grades: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12+

Sources play a key role in reporters’ efforts to gather and publish information of public importance. Documents, images, video and people can all serve as sources in news coverage. When it comes to choosing sources, reporters work to interview the people or entities in a position to know the information they’re looking for. That might include experts, elected officials, everyday people or all of the above.

This week, we talk to Los Angeles Times reporter Libor Jany about his role covering the Los Angeles Police Department. Jany discusses his approach to reporting on public safety and how he develops sources on his beat. We consider some of the ways that sources share information with reporters — including what it means to be on the record, on background and off the record. Jany also sheds light on the steps journalists take to verify information and explains why it’s important to seek out diverse viewpoints and perspectives. Grab your news goggles!

Note: Look for this newsletter feature the first Monday of the month. You can explore previous News Goggles videos, annotations and activities in NLP’s Resource Library under “Classroom Activities.”

Resource: “Practicing Quality Journalism” (NLP’s Checkology® virtual classroom).

Idea: Contact a local journalist using NLP’s Newsroom to Classroom program and ask them to discuss how they decide which sources to include in news coverage. 

Dig Deeper: Use this viewing guide for the featured News Goggles video to help students take notes on how journalists develop and use sources in news reports.

News Goggles annotations and activities provide news literacy takeaways on timely topics. These resources feature examples of actual news coverage, including full news reports, headlines, breaking news alerts or excerpts.

This video originally appeared in the Feb. 6, 2023, issue of The Sift® newsletter for educators, which explores timely examples of misinformation, addresses journalism and press freedom topics and examines social media trends and issues. Read archives of the newsletter and subscribe here. Stock music in this video was provided by SoundKit from Pond5.

Have feedback about this resource? Or an idea for a future News Goggles? Please share it with us at [email protected].

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