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Concord · Crash · Roads · Police · Thu Sep 24

Brentwood motorcyclist, 47, dies after a crash on Highway 4 in Concord

> THE MARTINEZ WIRE ▌SOURCE CHECK · SEP 29, 2026B81 / 100

Grade B · score 81/100

The best-sourced telling, by Claycord, links no document and names two people or agencies on the record; two other outlets told it too, and the one fact the Wire could check matches its records.

Checked Tue Sep 29, 12:52 AM · 2 of 3 pages read

What the reporting says

The rider collided with a car on westbound Highway 4 near Port Chicago Highway on Monday afternoon and was then struck by a truck, the CHP said.

record checkconfirmed by one source

  1. Matches the record.

    CHP log: Sr4 W / Port Chicago Hwy Ofr, Trfc Collision-1141 Enrt, Mon Sep 21 3:05 PM.

    As Claycord wrote it: “UPDATE: Motorcyclist Killed After Being Ejected, Struck By Vehicle On Highway 4 In Concord”

    Source

coverage3 outlets

3 newsrooms

Claycord

News report · CLAYCORD.com · Thu Sep 24, 7:56 AM

Source grade B81/100

“UPDATE: Motorcyclist Killed After Being Ejected, Struck By Vehicle On Highway 4 In Concord”

As we previously reported, a motorcyclist was killed in Concord on Monday.

The opening, as Claycord wrote it

0 documents linked0 quotes3 of 3 paragraphs say where facts came from

Read the full story at Claycord

How this was graded31 + 12 + 20 + 10 + 8 = 81 of 100 · Grade B
31
Sourcing · of 45
12
Corroboration · of 15
20
Record match · of 20
10
Headline · of 10
8
Transparency · of 10

Contra Costa Herald

News report · Publisher · Thu Sep 24, 10:04 PM

Source grade C69/100

“Fatal Hwy 4 crash in Concord involving 47-year-old Brentwood motorcyclist under investigation”

CONCORD, Calif. – A motorcyclist was pronounced deceased Monday afternoon following a three-vehicle crash on westbound State Route 4 (SR-4) in Concord.

The opening, as Contra Costa Herald wrote it

0 documents linked0 quotes4 of 9 paragraphs say where facts came from

Read the full story at Contra Costa Herald

How this was graded19.1 + 12 + 20 + 10 + 8 = 69.1 of 100 · Grade C
19.1
Sourcing · of 45
12
Corroboration · of 15
20
Record match · of 20
10
Headline · of 10
8
Transparency · of 10

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    How the grading works

    The short version

    The Wire grades each article from what the page itself shows: whether its facts say where they came from, the public documents it links, the other outlets and sources that confirm the same story, whether its facts match the Wire's own public records, a calm headline, and a clear byline and date. The story takes its best-sourced telling's grade. The grade describes the page, never the people in it.

    The formulaGrade = 100 × points ÷ possibleA 85 · B 70 · C 55 · D 40

    Grade = 100 × points ÷ possibleeach article · 0 to 100

    Story = its best tellingA 85 · B 70 · C 55 · D 40 · F below 40

    45
    Sourcing · 25 for the share of facts that say where they came from, 0, 7 or 12 for none, one or two or more public documents linked, 0 to 8 for the people and agencies named on the record
    15
    Corroboration · 8 or 12 for one or two or more other outlets or sources confirming it, 3 more when one is official; 8 for a telling alone that links two or more documents
    20
    Record match · 20 × the key facts confirmed or matching the Wire's records ÷ the facts checked; left out when none could be checked
    10
    Headline · less for a question, capitals, an exclamation mark, a teaser or heated words
    10
    Transparency · a byline, a date, an update or correction note, the outlet's identity, the kind labelled
    This story's arithmetictwo articles graded
    OutletSCRHTScore
    Claycord31122010881
    Contra Costa Herald19.1122010869

    31 + 12 + 20 + 10 + 8 = 81 of 100 · Grade B

    S sourcing · C corroboration · R record match · H headline · T transparency. A dash is a part left out.

    How it is checked6 rules
    • Every input is read by rules from the page itself; the arithmetic is shown for every article.
    • An article that names no source, links no document and names no one on the record says "No sources cited", and its grade is at most D.
    • Where the Wire's own records hold the fact (a vote, a meeting, an amount, a call, a listing), the story and the record are set side by side; a vote the record tells differently holds the grade at most at D.
    • An agency's own release is the record itself and is not graded; an outlet that prints it as its story counts once.
    • Each story's key facts are checked for independent confirmation: first by rules against the Wire's records and the agencies' own releases, then each morning by research. A confirmation counts only when the Wire read the source's page itself and found the sentence on it; a government page, a public record or another newsroom's own reporting, never a copy of the story or a social post. A source that tells a fact differently is shown beside the story.
    • A page the Wire cannot read is never guessed at: it shows only its own headline, quoted, and is not graded.
    Sources4 records
    1. News reportThu Sep 24ClaycordRead
    2. News reportThu Sep 24Contra Costa HeraldRead
    3. News reportWed Sep 23ContraCosta.newsRead
    4. Public recordMon Sep 21CHP log: Sr4 W / Port Chicago Hwy Ofr, Trfc Collision-1141 Enrt, Mon Sep 21 3:05 PMRecord