During a time when so much information is available at your fingertips, we want to help you recognize what information you can depend on. We know how important it is for you to trust the news we give you, and to show you how Fox 4 remains unbiased, we're celebrating "News Literacy Week."
We're partnering with the News Literacy Project, a non-partisan education non-profit, to give you the tools to determine what information to base your decisions on.
During the height of last summer's Black Lives Matter protests, we heard many people calling to "defund the police." Fox 4 Reporter Rochelle Alleyne covered multiple rallies, and did a deeper dive into the phrase, to make sure all perspectives were represented.
"You saw that message of 'Defunding the Police' everywhere. But I wanted to make sure that we really broke down what does that mean, that actual word," Rochelle said. "And then what does it mean, in practice? What would that actually look like?"
For her story, Rochelle interviewed community activist Chantel Rhodes, who organized several Black Lives Matter rallies and peaceful protests in Southwest Florida.
"They were kind of breaking down why they wanted to see police departments across the United States defunded, and where that money would go," Rochelle said. "But I wanted to make sure that we spoke to somebody who knows the law enforcement world; who has either worked actively, or is retired in that world, and can kind of break down what would that mean from their perspective."
Rochelle also interviewed Dr. David Thomas, a retired police officer and Forensic Studies Professor.
"I wanted to ask him 'What does that look like internally? What does that mean for the everyday police officer that's on the street? What does that look like for them?'" she said.
As journalists, all of us at Fox 4 are trained to remain unbiased, and bring you just the facts, plus all perspectives on any given story. It's something Rochelle said she puts into practice with each assignment.
"It's important for us to check our biases, because we all have them, and then work to make sure that we are remaining unbiased, and that the final product isn't skewed to whatever biases we have,' she said.
If you have questions about how we do what we do as journalists, ask us! All of us are happy to pull back the veil on what we do, to help you understand how this process actually works. You can email us your questions at news@fox4now.com.
