When Sources Contradict: The Epistemological Functions of Contradiction in News Texts

Abstract

Contradiction is a defining characteristic of contemporary journalism, despite the risks it carries of raising uncertainty among audiences. Scholars and observers alike have called for journalists to embrace an epistemological stance rooted in adjudication of competing claims, but studies suggest journalists can only rarely perform this service. What, then, is the epistemological role of contradictions in journalism? This study employs quantitative and qualitative analysis of news texts over a 12-year span to explore tensions in journalistic norms that shape the presentation of contradictions. Findings suggest contradictions are infrequently presented in news texts and are usually between sources on equal footing. In the rare cases journalists themselves contradict their sources, these contradictions are neither explicit nor forceful. Many contradictions revolve around questions of interpretation.