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DEPARTMENT: B.A. (Hons) Journalism
SEMESTER: I
PAPER: INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM
UNIT: I
TOPIC: Attribution
Time Period: The mentioned topic was discussed in class in the fourth week of August, 2025.
Journalists rely on a range of sources to get the facts that are based on evidence or proof. Thus, they are expected to provide shreds of evidence on whatever they are reporting. In journalistic writing, these shreds of evidence come in the form of videos, pictures, recordings, quotes and attributions.
Attribution is stating who said something. Attribution is essential in all the media, including radio and television. Journalists do it so that their readers or listeners can know who is speaking or where the information in the story comes from. It can be used for both spoken and written information.
It simply means telling readers where the information in the story comes from, as well as who is being quoted. It includes using a source’s full name and job title if that is relevant.
IMPORTANCE OF ATTRIBUTION
Attribution is very important in media writing; it helps to establish an objective tone and adds credibility to an article. One must not keep out readers in the dark and hence attributing the information adds extra weight to it. Attribution gives stories a perspective. It tells readers how we know what we know. It is important to give credit to the person or group who spent the time researching and writing in order to provide that information. It allows readers to find the source later if they want to read it themselves.
Learning the critical role attribution plays within the craft is one of the true building blocks necessary to become a strong, ethical reporter and hence effective use of attribution is a matter both of journalism ethics and of strong writing.
Some examples of different kinds of attribution:
TYPES OF ATTRIBUTIONS
“On-the-record” attribution means that everything the source says may be published and quoted directly, and the source may be fully identified by name and title. Reporters should try to keep as much as possible of every interview on the record. This allows readers to see or hear the source’s exact words and know who the source is.
“Off the record” is the final level of attribution. It generally means a source’s information cannot be used, but that is often misunderstood. Some people say they are speaking off the record when they really mean they are speaking in the background. Also, reporters and sources sometimes disagree as to exactly what “off the record” means. Reporters, however, sometimes use off-the-record information as leads to other sources. Almost every secret is known by several people, sometimes hundreds of people. Once reporters know what they are looking for, they usually can locate public records or sources who can verify the information on the record or on background.
“On background,” which is sometimes referred to as “not for attribution,” means the reporter may quote the source directly but may not attribute the statements to the source by name. The reporter may describe the source by her position. For example, Patrick E. Tyler of The New York Times used on-background sources for a story exposing U.S. military assistance to Iraq during its war against Iran. Tyler reported the United States had covertly provided intelligence and battle plans to Iraq even though U.S. officials knew Saddam Hussein was using chemical weapons against both Iranian troops and civilian rebels inside Iraq. Much of Tyler’s story was attributed to “senior military officers with direct knowledge of the program” or “former Defense Intelligence Agency officers” who were willing to talk only on the condition that they not be identified.
“On deep background” is a variation of the backgrounder. This level of attribution is sometimes called the Lindley Rule, named after Ernest K. Lindley, a Newsweek columnist who used it during the Harry Truman administration to persuade U.S. leaders to discuss military and diplomatic affairs. A source on deep background may not be quoted directly and may not be identified in any way. A reporter must publish the information without any attribution or with a phrase like, “It has been learned that. . . .” Unless reporters have a high degree of confidence in the source and the information and the approval of their supervisors, they should stay away from information given on deep background.
WHEN TO ATTRIBUTE
Any time the information in your story comes from a source and not from your own firsthand observations or knowledge, it must be attributed. A good rule of thumb is to attribute once per paragraph if you are telling the story mainly through comments from an interview or eyewitnesses to an event. It might seem repetitive, but it’s important for journalists to be clear about where their information originates.
Example: The suspect escaped from the police van on Broad Street, and officers captured him about a block away on Market Street, said Lt. Jim Calvin.
ATTRIBUTING FACTS AND OPINIONS
There are some things which are universally accepted as true, for example that the world is round, that Tuesday follows Monday, that Fiji is in the Pacific. But there are also things which people want you to believe are true but which are either not provable or are lies. These people may not knowingly tell a lie, but many people are careless with the truth.
Also, situations may change, so that the truth at one moment may be wrong the next. Attribution helps you to overcome some of these problems. Attribution is the act of specifying who said what.
If you attribute the words to the person who said them, you do not have to prove or disprove the truth of their words; you simply report them. Also, people judge what is said by the person who says it. Statements made by people in authority carry more weight than statements made by other people.
ETHICS
Attribution is a journalist's way of sourcing the information in their piece. This can come from all different ways, including quotes to paraphrasing. Any information that is provided outside of a journalist's personal observations needs to be properly attributed in any type of article. This prevents any fraud, copyright infringements, and helps the writer be clear and precise about their data.
Journalists' ethical code normally addresses the issue of attribution, which is sensitive because in the course of their work journalists may receive information from sources who wish to remain anonymous. Divulging the identity of a confidential source is frowned upon by groups representing journalists in many democracies. In many countries, journalists enjoy the same protection under the law as all other citizens, and as such may be required to divulge their sources in the course of a criminal investigation as any other citizen would be. Even in jurisdictions which grant journalists special legal protections, journalists are typically required to testify if they bear witness to a crime.
In conclusion, by properly attributing information to its sources, journalists can maintain the public trust and provide with a clear understanding of where the information came from.
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