Mmm facts good, more please

Too often, reporters simply write what they are told by people in authority and leave it at that. It's stenography or he said/she said when they are reporting "both sides" of the story. Some reporters are better than others at avoiding it. Still, it's a terrible and all too common shortcoming and one of the easiest to fix, with the greatest effect on credibility.

So on the heels of a big mistake in failing to align his reporting of the governor's race with the facts, it's nice to see News & Record reporter Travis Fain bring the facts to bear on this story about Libertarian vice [corrected] presidential candidate Jim Gray:

Questioned on this, he [Gray] acknowledged the Constitution requires presidential candidates to be 35.

“I sit corrected,” Gray said. “It’s the only mistake I’ve made on this campaign. I think it’s 32 to be a member of Congress.”

That is also incorrect. It’s 25 for the House and 30 for the Senate.

That's how we like it. Report what people say, sure, but then fact check them.