The Beacon news organization earns a perfect score for trusted news
Newsguard, a company that identifies misinformation on the internet, rates the credibility of news websites.
A world without facts is dangerous.
In a public health crisis like the coronavirus pandemic, accurate information (that’s not hidden behind a paywall) can be a matter of life and death.
Yet local news consumers are navigating more and more fake news to find information they can trust. With nearly one in five American newspapers and nearly half of all newsroom journalists gone, there’s simply less trusted and verified news and information available.
To fulfill our promise as a trusted Midwest’s newsroom, we need you, Beacon readers, to believe in us and our work.
Now we have a new tool that gives a clear statement of who we are and what we do.
The journalism reliability project NewsGuard has given The Beacon a perfect score, 100 out of 100, for credibility and transparency.
Less than 20% of the more than 6,100 websites NewsGuard has reviewed worldwide have received a perfect score, said Joe Danielewicz, the company’s broadcast editor, in an email.
The Beacon’s standards of responsible newsgathering and financial transparency are among the factors that contribute to The Beacon’s ranking, according to NewsGuard’s assessment.
Our work to keep the community informed with COVID-19 health information, including our effort to answer submitted reader questions through the COVID-19 Help Desk, was singled out.
Also highlighted, though the Beacon has a published corrections policy, we have not issued a formal correction yet. The Beacon’s founder and publisher, Kelsey Ryan, credits this accomplishment to our use of a fact-checker to help vet content.
For comparison, here are some Newsguard scores for other area news websites.
The Kansas City Star — 100
The Wichita Eagle — 100
The Topeka Capital-Journal — 87.5
The Hays Post — 95
The St. Louis American — 92.5
The Jefferson City News Tribune — 100
St. Louis Public Radio — 100
The Riverfront Times in St. Louis — 87.5
KSHB — 95
Newsguard is available for download as a browser extension. The Kansas City Public Library provides Newsguard on all computers at library locations to help patrons assess news credibility.
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