Matthew Hendrickson

Matthew Hendrickson is an award-winning journalist and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. He covers crime, politics, education and other issues affecting the city of Chicago and its suburbs. He has been with the paper since 2010 and has won several awards for his reporting, including a Peter Lisagor Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his coverage of gang violence in Chicago. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches courses on journalism and media literacy. He lives in Oak Park with his wife and two children.

Biography:  https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/matthew-hendrickson

44%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermines the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
Analysis.OverallConflictOfInterestScore * 0.3F + Analysis.OverallBiasScore * 0.3F + Analysis.DeceptivenessScore * 0.3F + Analysis.ReadabilityScore * 0.1F

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

The Daily's Verdict

This author has a poor reputation for journalistic standards and is not considered a reliable news source.

Bias

50%

Examples:

  • The author uses language that dehumanizes and demonizes the shooters by describing them as ‘two suspected gunmen on foot’ who opened fire at a family gathering in an attack believed to be gang-related.
  • The author uses language that portrays the victims of the shooting as innocent and helpless by describing them as ‘three innocent children’ who were struck down without any fault on their part.

Conflicts of Interest

35%

Examples:

  • The article does not provide enough information about what led up to the shooting or why these individuals were targeted in order for us to make a definitive determination of conflict of interest.
  • The author quotes a police official who may have a bias in favor of portraying the shooting as gang-related.

Contradictions

50%

Examples:

  • The article states that ‘a mass shooting took place’ and killed a girl and left two boys critical. However, this statement is misleading as it implies that all three children were shot by the same gunman or group of gunmen when in fact they were shot at different locations within minutes of each other.
  • The author quotes Area 1 Deputy Chief Don Jerome stating that ‘This was not a random act of violence, it was likely gang-related.’ However, this statement is misleading as there is no evidence presented to support the claim that the shooting was gang-related.

Deceptions

40%

Examples:

  • The article quotes a police official who may have a bias in favor of portraying the shooting as gang-related without providing any evidence to support his claim.
  • The article states that ‘three innocent children’ were killed and wounded when two suspected gunmen opened fire at a family gathering. However, this statement is misleading as it does not provide enough information about what actually happened or who was responsible for the shooting.

Recent Articles

Eight Shot, One Killed in Gang-Related Shooting in Chicago's Back of the Yards Neighborhood

Eight Shot, One Killed in Gang-Related Shooting in Chicago's Back of the Yards Neighborhood

Broke On: Sunday, 14 April 2024 A shooting in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago left 8 people injured, including 3 children. One child was killed and two others remained critically injured with multiple gunshot wounds. The police believe it to be a gang-related incident but no further details about the suspect or motive were immediately available.