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Martinez · Development · Council · Health · Sun Sep 27

“Council Members Grill Medical Center CEO on Lack of Community Outreach for Major Construction Project”

Headline as Martinez News and Views wrote it

> THE MARTINEZ WIRE ▌SOURCE CHECK · SEP 29, 2026B83 / 100

Grade B · score 83/100

The story links eight public documents and names 19 people or agencies on the record; the one fact the Wire could check matches its records.

Checked Tue Sep 29, 1:45 AM · 1 of 1 page read

record checkconfirmed by one source

  1. Matches the record.

    Wed Sep 16 council agenda: Rankin Pool play structure, $204,011.

    As Martinez News and Views wrote it: “The City Council on Sept. 16 approved a contract for $204,000 to refurbish the Rankin Aquatic Center play structure, to be funded by a $250,000 donation received in April from the Martinez Refining Co. But not before Mayor Brianne Zorn pulled the item off the consent calendar to express disappointment that the project was a refurbishment rather than an upgrade.”

    The record on the WireSource

  2. Not in the Wire's records, so not checked.

    As Martinez News and Views wrote it: “Zorn also noted that the City Council had recently voted to cancel two uncontested council elections, including for her seat, saving the city roughly $85,000.”

coverage1 outlet

1 blog

Martinez News and Views

Blog · Craig Lazzeretti · Sun Sep 27, 5:03 PM

Source grade B83/100

“Council Members Grill Medical Center CEO on Lack of Community Outreach for Major Construction Project”

City Council members at their Sept. 16 meeting expressed frustration with an apparent lack of community outreach by Contra Costa Health (CCH) about a major, multi-year seismic retrofitting project at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC) on Alhambra Avenue that was days away from beginning.

The opening, as Martinez News and Views wrote it

8 documents linked26 quotes24 of 30 paragraphs say where facts came fromcchealth.org · oag.ca.gov · dhs.gov · contra-costa.legistar.com · apps.wildlife.ca.gov · ebparks.org · baaqmd.gov · granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.comHeadline: 'grill' −2

Read the full story at Martinez News and Views

How this was graded40 + 8 + 20 + 8 + 7 = 83 of 100 · Grade B
40
Sourcing · of 45
8
Corroboration · of 15
20
Record match · of 20
8
Headline · of 10
7
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 arithmeticone article graded
    OutletSCRHTScore
    Martinez News and Views408208783

    40 + 8 + 20 + 8 + 7 = 83 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.
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    • A page the Wire cannot read is never guessed at: it shows only its own headline, quoted, and is not graded.
    Sources2 records
    1. BlogSun Sep 27Martinez News and ViewsRead
    2. Public recordWed Sep 16Wed Sep 16 council agenda: Rankin Pool play structure, $204,011Record