What does a “5-star article” mean?
Why is quality important?
There are qualitative differences between articles that the power of artificial intelligence can help us find instantly
Overtone scores articles based on the text itself, not the prestige of the outlet or author that published it. Our algorithm has been trained to look for important parts of “journalistic quality” including original reporting, meaningful analysis and good sourcing. If you want more examples than are found here, sign up for our newsletter!
Take Me to the Newsletter!5-star articles ★★★★★
Reporting based on interviews and documents
How wealthy homeowners are endangering Hawaii’s beaches – Honoulu Star Advertiser
In-depth analysis on multiple angles
COVID-19 Has Changed Science Forever – The Atlantic
From outlets you may or may not be reading
The Epidemic of Teacher Burnout – The Walrus
4-star articles ★★★★
Slightly less in-depth features with solid reporting
The Political Journey of a Young Activist in Thailand’s Democracy Struggle – TIME
Journalists putting in work
How NYC Small Businesses Got Short Shrift on PPP Loans – The City NYC
Articles that receive lower scores are often not “bad” articles but simply don’t contain the amount of information or reporting that higher-scoring articles do. They can provide good, truthful coverage of something, but don’t add a lot more. Many articles receive a 3, 2 or 1.
3-star articles ★★★
Adds some context
‘R’ is for Rohingya: Sesame Street Creates New Muppets for Refugees – NY Times
Covering a news conference
Moline police charge Ohio woman in 1992 death – Cedar Rapids Gazette
2-star articles ★★
Short write-ups
Fire destroys three sheds in Escondido – San Diego Union Tribune
Aggregation
Fauci insists there’s no need to cancel Christmas during pandemic – NY Post
1-star articles ★
Stories based only on social media posts
What Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s 2020 Christmas Card Reveals – Newsweek
Articles that aren’t news
