Accuracy and fact checking
Jacob Richey uncovered sweeping errors in facts and quoted material, including phrasing that was formatted as a quote but did not appear in interview notes or transcripts. Richey identified and inserted accurate quotes from interview records that elevated the narrative of the story. See the unedited copy from the reporter with Richey’s commentary and reasoning in bold italics under each paragraph, with points of reference highlighted. Then, find the final, published copy from Missouri Business Alert’s website.Unedited draft
A recent national survey found that inflation is the number one challenge for many small businesses. Several Missouri business owners say they continue to feel the impacts of elevated prices.
Nearly a quarter of U.S. small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’ recent Small Business Economics Optimism Index Report. This is up three points from last month and replaces labor quality as the top problem businesses are facing.
I corrected Associated Press style errors throughout the story. Additionally, I contextualized this numeral because the meaning wasn’t clear, and as it was, it did not add meaning to the story. After locating the data source, I linked it for transparency.
In February, shelter and gasoline were some of the leading contributors to elevated inflation, according to the most recent consumer price index. Combined, these two factors contributed over 60% of the monthly increase in the index for all items.
J. Bruce Addison, president of Addison Biological Laboratory in Fayette uses his background in microbiology to produce animal health products, specializing in animal vaccines. However this small business has run into challenges with increased costs of raw materials and pressure on payroll.
“We have had several price increases, just to balance out the cost increases,” Addison said.
I discovered this quote, in addition to several more highlighted below, was inaccurate when comparing the story to the transcription, which I then compared to the interview recording for an added layer of verification. I corrected the quote and notified my newsroom supervisor, as I believe altering quotes is a breach of journalistic integrity. When combing through the interview transcripts, I identified quotes that added more narrative to the story, which I inserted.
In addition to the increased costs, manufacturing has decreased. TransLand Trucking, headquartered in Springfield, faces an extra challenge due to reduced shipment volume, declining rates, and the imperative to stay updated with current equipment.
To avoid trivializing the issue at hand, I added more details from the interviews, such as specific statistics for how this individual business is facing the broad challenges the story is discussing. This avoids generalization and highlights the unique experiences of each entrepreneur and company.
“We have been in a recession in our business for about the last year,” said Mark Walter, chairman and CEO for Transland Trucking.
This source’s name was spelled incorrectly, I found when listening to the source spell their name at the start of the interview, and this quote was removed because it did not add significant perspective to the story.
This family-owned trucking company transports mostly dry goods and flatbed services across the U.S.
Rising gas prices haven’t imposed as great of an issue for Transland Trucking as manufacturing. The company participates in a national fuel surcharge program that allows companies to change pricing weekly as the national index on diesel fuel changes.
Overall, many small businesses continue to have a hard time hiring and retaining employees. There are 37% of businesses that have job openings they are unable to fill, according to the NFIB report. Plus, only 12% of small businesses are planning to add jobs in the next three months.
I contextualized this numeral by finding out how this reading compares to past measurments of this statistic, finding it was the lowest since 2020.
“The problem arises when you really want a certain quality of people, you have to pay up and so that pushes on the inflation,” said Brad Jones, the Missouri state director for NFIB.
I discovered this quote was inaccurate to the source’s actual words from the interview recording.
Ultimately causing small business owners to adopt survival strategies for these current economic conditions. These include tightening spending on essential items and emphasizing the distinctive goods and services their business offers, aiming to distinguish themselves from larger competitors and optimize their future.
I corrected grammar errors throughout the story, including this sentence fragment, which is missing an independent clause. I also questioned the source of this information, as it was not provided and didn’t appear in any interview transcript. Much of this paragraph was ultimately removed because the attribution was unclear and the reporter only worked a single shift for the newsroom.
“We sell trucks that we may not need, that have extra miles on them, and we are not buying as many trucks as we used to in order to contain our costs,” Walter said.
As costs become greater, owner of Big K Glaze in St. Louis Kevin Kerr, decided to hire his first employee in an effort getting his product to consumers hands. In order to accomplish this he is taking the approach of targeting his audience and establishing his brand on all social media platforms ranging from Facebook to TikTok.
“We are going to move from trying to sell the product in big stores to going directly to the consumer,” Kerr said.
The reporter paraphrased this material and formatted it as a quote, when it was not near what the source said verbatim.
When prices rise, people tend to fall back on spending. However, that has not been the case
“People are spending like drunken sailors,” a trend that Jones defines as strange because, “The weird thing about this economy is traditionally Econ 101 when prices go up people pull back on spending money, and it hasn’t happened .” “However, this abnormal trend has and continues to be a key factor in keeping small businesses going as they are faced with challenges in the current economic state,” Jones said.
This quote was also incorrectly reported. I replaced it with the accurate quote, which included more vivid language that provided a comfortable landing place for the story.
Nearly a quarter of U.S. small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’ recent Small Business Economics Optimism Index Report. This is up three points from last month and replaces labor quality as the top problem businesses are facing.
I corrected Associated Press style errors throughout the story. Additionally, I contextualized this numeral because the meaning wasn’t clear, and as it was, it did not add meaning to the story. After locating the data source, I linked it for transparency.
In February, shelter and gasoline were some of the leading contributors to elevated inflation, according to the most recent consumer price index. Combined, these two factors contributed over 60% of the monthly increase in the index for all items.
J. Bruce Addison, president of Addison Biological Laboratory in Fayette uses his background in microbiology to produce animal health products, specializing in animal vaccines. However this small business has run into challenges with increased costs of raw materials and pressure on payroll.
“We have had several price increases, just to balance out the cost increases,” Addison said.
I discovered this quote, in addition to several more highlighted below, was inaccurate when comparing the story to the transcription, which I then compared to the interview recording for an added layer of verification. I corrected the quote and notified my newsroom supervisor, as I believe altering quotes is a breach of journalistic integrity. When combing through the interview transcripts, I identified quotes that added more narrative to the story, which I inserted.
In addition to the increased costs, manufacturing has decreased. TransLand Trucking, headquartered in Springfield, faces an extra challenge due to reduced shipment volume, declining rates, and the imperative to stay updated with current equipment.
To avoid trivializing the issue at hand, I added more details from the interviews, such as specific statistics for how this individual business is facing the broad challenges the story is discussing. This avoids generalization and highlights the unique experiences of each entrepreneur and company.
“We have been in a recession in our business for about the last year,” said Mark Walter, chairman and CEO for Transland Trucking.
This source’s name was spelled incorrectly, I found when listening to the source spell their name at the start of the interview, and this quote was removed because it did not add significant perspective to the story.
This family-owned trucking company transports mostly dry goods and flatbed services across the U.S.
Rising gas prices haven’t imposed as great of an issue for Transland Trucking as manufacturing. The company participates in a national fuel surcharge program that allows companies to change pricing weekly as the national index on diesel fuel changes.
Overall, many small businesses continue to have a hard time hiring and retaining employees. There are 37% of businesses that have job openings they are unable to fill, according to the NFIB report. Plus, only 12% of small businesses are planning to add jobs in the next three months.
I contextualized this numeral by finding out how this reading compares to past measurments of this statistic, finding it was the lowest since 2020.
“The problem arises when you really want a certain quality of people, you have to pay up and so that pushes on the inflation,” said Brad Jones, the Missouri state director for NFIB.
I discovered this quote was inaccurate to the source’s actual words from the interview recording.
Ultimately causing small business owners to adopt survival strategies for these current economic conditions. These include tightening spending on essential items and emphasizing the distinctive goods and services their business offers, aiming to distinguish themselves from larger competitors and optimize their future.
I corrected grammar errors throughout the story, including this sentence fragment, which is missing an independent clause. I also questioned the source of this information, as it was not provided and didn’t appear in any interview transcript. Much of this paragraph was ultimately removed because the attribution was unclear and the reporter only worked a single shift for the newsroom.
“We sell trucks that we may not need, that have extra miles on them, and we are not buying as many trucks as we used to in order to contain our costs,” Walter said.
As costs become greater, owner of Big K Glaze in St. Louis Kevin Kerr, decided to hire his first employee in an effort getting his product to consumers hands. In order to accomplish this he is taking the approach of targeting his audience and establishing his brand on all social media platforms ranging from Facebook to TikTok.
“We are going to move from trying to sell the product in big stores to going directly to the consumer,” Kerr said.
The reporter paraphrased this material and formatted it as a quote, when it was not near what the source said verbatim.
When prices rise, people tend to fall back on spending. However, that has not been the case
“People are spending like drunken sailors,” a trend that Jones defines as strange because, “The weird thing about this economy is traditionally Econ 101 when prices go up people pull back on spending money, and it hasn’t happened .” “However, this abnormal trend has and continues to be a key factor in keeping small businesses going as they are faced with challenges in the current economic state,” Jones said.
This quote was also incorrectly reported. I replaced it with the accurate quote, which included more vivid language that provided a comfortable landing place for the story.
Edited copy
A recent national survey found that inflation is the No. 1 challenge for many small businesses, and several Missouri business owners say they continue to feel the impacts of elevated prices.
Nearly a quarter of U.S. small business owners reported that inflation was their most important problem in operating their business in February, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Economics Optimism Index report. This is up 3 percentage points from January — rising to 23% — and replaces labor quality as the top problem businesses face.
In February, shelter and gasoline were some of the leading contributors to elevated inflation, according to the most recent consumer price index. Combined, these two factors contributed over 60% of the monthly increase in the index.
While hiring challenges are improving, many small businesses continue to face difficulties. The NFIB report says 37% of businesses have job openings they are unable to fill, the lowest reading since January 2021. But only 12% of small businesses are planning to add jobs in the next three months, which is the lowest level since May 2020.
“That should be a huge red flag in the economy,” said Brad Jones, the Missouri state director for NFIB. “I think a lot of small businesses are adjusting to the number of people they’ve got and have kind of given up on trying to hire — it’s just so difficult.”
Addison Biological Laboratory in Fayette produces animal vaccines and focuses on business-to-business sales. Founder J. Bruce Addison says the small business has had to increase prices to keep up with costs of raw materials and labor.
“It’s a balance,” Addison said. “We try to keep it as affordable as we can for the farmer. They’re pressed from every angle. At the same time, we’ve got to have a margin on it, or we can’t do it.”
TransLand Trucking, headquartered in Springfield, is also navigating elevated prices. The family-owned trucking company offers dry goods and flatbed services across the continental U.S.
TransLand tries to buy new equipment every four years, but the cost for new trucks and trailers has gone up between 20% and 40%, according to Chairman and CEO Mark Walker. As the company works to find and retain employees, wage increases have also gone up faster than revenue, he said.
“In fact, just about all the costs that we have are going up faster than revenue’s going up,” Walker said.
TransLand participates in a national fuel surcharge program, which allows companies to change pricing weekly as the national index on diesel fuel changes. The program helps prevent trucking companies from being as dependent on fuel price fluctuations, Walker said.
Fuel prices also affect the cost of shipping, which can hit small businesses who ship their products.
Big K’z Glaze is a veteran-owned St. Louis business that produces a barbecue glaze, which is sold across Missouri and in North Dakota and Illinois, according to the company’s website.
Owner Kevin Kerr said the company has had to navigate increased shipping rates from both UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. UPS raised its fuel surcharge on certain delivery services last year.
Kerr does much of the work by himself, but he said he is hiring an employee to manage social media for Big K’z Glaze. Kerr’s social media manager will make videos for Instagram and TikTok and enhance his company’s Facebook page.
“I am completely revamping how I’m going to be marketing my product,” Kerr said.
“Instead of being so focused on big box stores or brick and mortar, we're going to try to go directly to the consumer,” he said.
When prices rise, people tend to fall back on spending, Jones said. However, February saw retail sales rebound after a surprise drop in January, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
“People are spending like drunken sailors,” Jones said. “And they keep doing it, which keeps small business folks going, for sure. But when you’ve got these inflationary pressures, it’s kind of scary.”
Jones said this differs from typical expectations of consumer behavior.
“I think the economy is like trying to steer a really big ship — it doesn’t corner well,” Jones said. “It moves kind of at a snail’s pace. … It’s thumping along pretty good right now, but this economic trends survey — the trend part of it is pretty worrisome.”
Nearly a quarter of U.S. small business owners reported that inflation was their most important problem in operating their business in February, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Economics Optimism Index report. This is up 3 percentage points from January — rising to 23% — and replaces labor quality as the top problem businesses face.
In February, shelter and gasoline were some of the leading contributors to elevated inflation, according to the most recent consumer price index. Combined, these two factors contributed over 60% of the monthly increase in the index.
While hiring challenges are improving, many small businesses continue to face difficulties. The NFIB report says 37% of businesses have job openings they are unable to fill, the lowest reading since January 2021. But only 12% of small businesses are planning to add jobs in the next three months, which is the lowest level since May 2020.
“That should be a huge red flag in the economy,” said Brad Jones, the Missouri state director for NFIB. “I think a lot of small businesses are adjusting to the number of people they’ve got and have kind of given up on trying to hire — it’s just so difficult.”
Addison Biological Laboratory in Fayette produces animal vaccines and focuses on business-to-business sales. Founder J. Bruce Addison says the small business has had to increase prices to keep up with costs of raw materials and labor.
“It’s a balance,” Addison said. “We try to keep it as affordable as we can for the farmer. They’re pressed from every angle. At the same time, we’ve got to have a margin on it, or we can’t do it.”
TransLand Trucking, headquartered in Springfield, is also navigating elevated prices. The family-owned trucking company offers dry goods and flatbed services across the continental U.S.
TransLand tries to buy new equipment every four years, but the cost for new trucks and trailers has gone up between 20% and 40%, according to Chairman and CEO Mark Walker. As the company works to find and retain employees, wage increases have also gone up faster than revenue, he said.
“In fact, just about all the costs that we have are going up faster than revenue’s going up,” Walker said.
TransLand participates in a national fuel surcharge program, which allows companies to change pricing weekly as the national index on diesel fuel changes. The program helps prevent trucking companies from being as dependent on fuel price fluctuations, Walker said.
Fuel prices also affect the cost of shipping, which can hit small businesses who ship their products.
Big K’z Glaze is a veteran-owned St. Louis business that produces a barbecue glaze, which is sold across Missouri and in North Dakota and Illinois, according to the company’s website.
Owner Kevin Kerr said the company has had to navigate increased shipping rates from both UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. UPS raised its fuel surcharge on certain delivery services last year.
Kerr does much of the work by himself, but he said he is hiring an employee to manage social media for Big K’z Glaze. Kerr’s social media manager will make videos for Instagram and TikTok and enhance his company’s Facebook page.
“I am completely revamping how I’m going to be marketing my product,” Kerr said.
“Instead of being so focused on big box stores or brick and mortar, we're going to try to go directly to the consumer,” he said.
When prices rise, people tend to fall back on spending, Jones said. However, February saw retail sales rebound after a surprise drop in January, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
“People are spending like drunken sailors,” Jones said. “And they keep doing it, which keeps small business folks going, for sure. But when you’ve got these inflationary pressures, it’s kind of scary.”
Jones said this differs from typical expectations of consumer behavior.
“I think the economy is like trying to steer a really big ship — it doesn’t corner well,” Jones said. “It moves kind of at a snail’s pace. … It’s thumping along pretty good right now, but this economic trends survey — the trend part of it is pretty worrisome.”