Developing a Fact

Why facts are important• An appraisal on Saturday about Walter Cronkite’s career included a number of

errors. In some copies, it misstated the date that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed and referred incorrectly to Mr. Cronkite’s coverage of D-Day. Dr. King was killed on April 4, 1968, not April 30. Mr. Cronkite covered the D-Day landing from a warplane; he did not storm the beaches. In addition, Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, not July 26. “The CBS Evening News” overtook “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” on NBC in the ratings during the 1967-68 television season, not after Chet Huntley retired in 1970. A communications satellite used to relay correspondents’ reports from around the world was Telstar, not Telestar. Howard K. Smith was not one of the CBS correspondents Mr. Cronkite would turn to for reports from the field after he became anchor of “The CBS Evening News” in 1962; he left CBS before Mr. Cronkite was the anchor. Because of an editing error, the appraisal also misstated the name of the news agency for which Mr. Cronkite was Moscow bureau chief after World War II. At that time it was United Press, not United Press International.

Why facts are important, add1

• Bad facts, or incorrect facts, make us look stupid.

• It makes the reader doubt our competence.• It makes us look foolish.• Most bad facts come from laziness.

Common causes of fact indigestion

• Writing from memory, not text• Relying on bad sources• Not verifying information• Not following the “If your mother says she

loves you, check it out,” theory

Facts vs. Claims

• Facts are objective (the Earth is round)• Claims are subjective (“The cake is the best in

the world”)

Developing a fact

• Developing a fact = feeding and watering• It’s the process of taking a piece of

information and following it to its logical terminus.

• “It’s raining cats and dogs in Columbia” How much rain in how many hours? Where? ….

And then…

The follow-on

1. “It’s raining cats and dogs in Columbia”2. How much rain in how many hours? 9 inches in 3

hours. Where do you go from there? 3. Where did it fall? The Perche Creek, Grindstone

Creek and Hinkson Creek drainages.4. What’s the consequence? I-70 is flooded over at

Perche Creek, the community of Midway has been evacuated, homes in Columbia have been flooded.

Continuing to follow

• I-70 is flooded: To what depth? What milepost? Has the roadway been harmed/carried away? Any motorists stuck/carried away? When will it reopen?

• Midway has been evacuated: How many people will be evacuated? What route will they be taking? Can they drive out or is it National Guardsmen driving them out in trucks?

Mining reports for info

Answer the HWWWT questionsLook for outliersLook for differencesLook for colorUse the report as a foundation

What to look for: FAA Report

On December 19, 2007, about 0130 New Zealand daylight time, a turbine powered, wheel/ski-equipped Douglas DC-3T, C-FMKB, sustained substantial damage during an on ground collision with snow-covered terrain during takeoff from a remote site, about 547 miles east of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The airplane was being operated by the National Science Foundation's Antarctica Mission, as a public use flight.

Answers when

Answers what

What to look for, add1The airplane and crew were provided under contract to the National Science Foundation by Kenn

Borek Air, Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Of the 10 people on board, the airline transport pilot and 8 passengers sustained no injuries, and the first officer sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect.

The National Science Foundation public use aircraft contract with Kenn Borek Air, Ltd., is administered by the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), Aviation Management Directorate (AMD).

Answers to what extent

Crap you don’t need

What to look for, add2During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

investigator-in-charge (IIC) on December 23, about 1310 Alaska standard time, the accident captain reported that the purpose of the flight was to provide aviation support services to the scientific research team. He noted that the outbound flight to a prearranged site near Mt. Paterson was uneventful. After arriving at the site, the research team installed a monitoring station, which required about 5 to 6 hours to complete. The captain said both he and the first officer remained at the airplane and waited for the research team to complete the installation. Once the research team completed their work, they returned to the airplane, and the airplane was prepared for departure.

Provides more details about the what happened, including preface

What to look for, add2

The captain reported that his predetermined takeoff site consisted of hard packed, wind blown snow, which was atop a 5-degree down slope grade. He said that during the takeoff run, as the airplane neared 70 knots, he moved the airplane's control column aft in an attempt to lower the tail, and attain a flying attitude. He said that just before the airplane became airborne, the left wing struck the snow-covered terrain, which pivoted the airplane 90 degrees to the left. He said that both main landing gear assemblies collapsed, and the airplane came to rest on the belly.

Provides an account of what happened

Action in the account

What to look for, add3During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC on December 26, about 0945 Alaska standard

time, the first officer reported that during the takeoff run, as the airplane neared 60 knots, and as the captain moved the control column aft, she felt the airplane's tailwheel contact the hard packed snow. She said she told the captain the airplane was not going to fly, and he responded by saying "yes it will."

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage.

The captain and first offer both reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. Outlier: Contradiction

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Looking for differences