It is every journalist’s duty to provide the facts as they are, but does bias still manage to exist in journalism? This was the question posed by Clare Noonan, editor of 11 East Bay Patch.com sites and speaker at Tuesday’s workshop at The Sacramento Press. While both Noonan and almost all 14 participants answered yes, Noonan said there were ways to pinpoint personal opinion as a reader and avoid it as a writer. In order to provide objectivity, Noonan said that writers should make sure that facts are accurate and that the reporting is fair. Referencing a University of Michigan website, Noonan listed five areas where bias can occur: word choice, omissions, limiting debate, story framing a

Thursday evening, 22 people came to The Sacramento Press office to learn about interviewing techniques at the workshop, taught by Clare Noonan. Writers from all levels were present, and non-writers were also in attendance. They all came with different goals. “I thought it would be geared more towards job-type interview techniques, but I was not disappointed that it was stories. It was a pleasant surprise,” said Swayne Cates, a real estate broker and attendee. He said he found the workshop important. There was plenty of information, even a seasoned writer would have learned something, he noted. Kim Tennant, 59, from Fair Oaks said she wanted to learn how to convince people to take part

Thanks to those of you who came to the "Writing about Wine and Spirits" workshop in March. Read the recap here. We have two journalism workshops planned for April. Clare Noonan will teach a workshop on interviewing techniques at The Sacramento Press office from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, April 7. Noonan has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky. She currently edits 11 East Bay Patch.com sites. She worked at The Modesto Bee for more than 20 years as a reporter for business, news, feature and sports while also copy editing. She also worked as assistant news editor and assistant city editor in charge of the Crime and Safety beat during her time at The Bee. She has be

Fact-checking is extremely important, for both writers and editors. It protects a publication’s credibility and prevents libel lawsuits, according to Patch.com editor Clare Noonan during her fact-checking and research seminar at The Sacramento Press Tuesday night. “You have to ask yourself if your source is reliable,” she said. “And nothing on the Internet should be your only source.” She warned that fact-checking is important for a number of reasons. “If you can’t get the basics right, your readers won’t read another word you say,” she said. There are a number of areas where mistakes are often found, including spelling errors, war dates, locations, ages and names of businesses. Some

We're very excited for Max Whittaker's photojournalism talk Tuesday, Nov. 9. The RSVP list is full, and we've set up a waiting list. The last workshop The Sacramento Press will be holding for this year will be Tuesday, Nov. 16, from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Clare Noonan will teach a workshop on research and fact-checking at The Sacramento Press office. The credibility of a writer rests on the research and facts put forth in his or her stories. Journalists are held to the highest accountability when it comes to the accuracy of their information. Fact-checking is a very valuable skill to possess, and Noonan will discuss methods for verifying your research and double-checking the facts in your storie

Tuesday night, The Sacramento Press office was the place to be if you wanted to improve your writing. Clare Noonan—who has more than 20 years’ experience working as a reporter and copy editor for The Modesto Bee and The Sacramento Press—presented to a crowd of roughly 50 people to “Improve Your Writing and Self-Editing.” The interactive workshop focused on tips for self-editing and common mistakes that Noonan found when reading copy. “Get rid of the clunk,” she said. She suggested to “tighten up” writing by getting rid of saying things twice. For example, the phrase “massive aircraft carrier” does not need the word massive, since an aircraft carrier is large enough already. On the han