ABSTRACT
Debiasing techniques shift the mental processing of people and events from automatic, rule-of-thumb thinking to conscious, controlled thinking. Journalists have some built-in advantages when it comes to debiasing due to their profession. The factors beyond motivation that may encourage journalists’ unbiased thought and behavior include: social norms, situational pressures and social context. A tool for journalists in seeking and responding to feedback is crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing uses the collaborative information-gathering efforts of readers in reporting a news story. The journalist issues an open call for assistance, drawing on the knowledge of a wide range of people to find leads, information and sources. The mental form of debiasing involves techniques aimed at changing the way people think about a problem. Formal training in statistics, logic and basic economics helps people develop better reasoning strategies. There is no shortage of training available online, some of it free, through reputable organizations and institutions.
