Pundits on Notice

Update: My new piece at The Nation: "New Pundit Fact Promises More Truth--And False Equivalence?"

We've had issues with PolitiFact over the years but fact-checking news stories is certainly a worthy endeavor.  Now those folks, and their related Poynter Institute, just announced they will soon launch PunditFact, covering columnists and TV hosts and guests--one of the all-time challenges, especially since most of them claim they are just offering opinions so can play fast and very loose with the facts.  Seems they may have to launch a FoxWatch just for that species.

"Pundits on TV and radio, as well as bloggers and columnists, are prominent voices in our political discourse, yet sometimes they blur the lines between opinion and fact," said Neil Brown, editor and vice president of the Times. "Now we will hold them accountable, much as we’ve done with politicians."

"Creating broad and nuanced media coverage of complex social issues is all the more difficult when the facts are often disregarded or ignored," said Jonathan Barzilay, director of the Freedom of Expression Unit at the Ford Foundation. "PunditFact is poised to play a critical part in reaffirming the role of facts in our civic dialogue."