Sources of News

DISCLAIMER: The Article provided below is a compilation of information from various sources. The references to the sources are provided at the end of the article. The views and/or facts expressed below are in no way related to the compiler. The blogger or the compiler shall not have any responsibility on the credibility of the information provided. This is an effort to help students during COVID-19.

A Report on SOURCES OF NEWS

By  Devunoori Vaishnavi 

INTRODUCTION 

News is happening all the time: People are being born or dying, banks are being robbed, roads are being planned, companies are making profits or losses, storms are destroying homes, courts are sending people to jail or freeing them, scientists are discovering new drugs. Every minute of every day something newsworthy is happening somewhere in the world.

Even if you are a journalist working in a small country, something newsworthy is probably happening in your country at this moment, while you are reading this book. Your job as a journalist is to get information on those events and present it to your readers or listeners. But you cannot be everywhere all the time to see those events for yourself. So you need other ways of getting information on all those hundreds (maybe millions) of events you cannot witness yourself. When someone or something provides you with information, we call them a source.

Sources of information can be people, letters, books, files, films, tapes - in fact, anything which journalists use to put news stories together. Sources are very important to report on events or issues and explain the world to the audience. Journalists try to work as much as possible from their own observations, but this is often not possible. Some events or issues are finished before the journalist gets there. Others are like plants which only show their stem and leaves above the ground - the all-important roots are hidden from sight. Journalists who only report what they see can miss much of the news unless they have sources to tell them of more details or other aspects which are out of sight.

TYPES OF SOURCES 

Journalists should deal in reliable facts. So, it is important that the sources  used for writing stories can give accurate information about what happened or what was said. But just as there are lots of different news events, so there are many different sources of information. Some of them will give very accurate information and we call these sources reliable (because we can rely on what they say). Others are less reliable, but still useful, while some can hardly be trusted at all. The main way of judging sources of information is on their reliability.

On the basis of providers, sources can be classified into

Primary Sources

Often the source is someone at the centre of the event or issue. We call such people primary sources. It might be a man who fell 1,000 metres from an aircraft and lived to tell the tale; or a union leader who is leading wage negotiations. They are usually the best sources of information about their part of what happened. They should be able to give accurate details and also supply strong comments.

The fall survivor might say: "I saw the ground rushing up towards me and I kept thinking `So this is death'." The union leader might warn: "If the employers want blood on their hands, we are ready to supply it."

Of course, just because a person was present at an event does not mean that they are either accurate or fair. The fall survivor may have injured his head after landing and so be confused. The union leader will want to present his side in the best light. It is vital to double-check and cross-check facts with other sources.

A word of warning here: If any of the sources, however reliable, gives the information which is defamatory, the concerned journalist can still be taken to court for using it. He/She is responsible for deciding whether or not to publish the defamatory material.

Secondary Sources 

Secondary sources are those people who do not make the news, but who pass it on. The official police report of an incident or comments by someone's press officer can be called secondary sources. Secondary sources are not usually as reliable as primary sources.

Most eyewitnesses should be treated as secondary sources for journalists because, although they are able to tell what they think they have seen, they are often not trained for such work and can be very inaccurate, without meaning to be. Journalists have to assess the reliability of secondary sources and if necessary tell  readers or listeners where the information came from. Secondary sources  include

1.     Press Release

A type of news source where information can be collected through the official statements made to journalists by the concerned organization, a political party or a government department. This type of news sources are tagged as “Pseudo Events”. They  attempt to make publicity.

2.   Press Conference 

It is a meeting at which somebody or the concerned organization talks to a group of journalists in order to answer their questions or necessary official statements. Here the concerned organization is prepared on the information they are disseminating to gain maximum publicity. for example, an interview .

3.   Speeches

Speeches are one of the important news sources today. The highlight of the speech is done on “who spoke” and ‘ what is spoken”. Majority of the political leaders, celebrities and famous people are given priority from the simple nonsense speech to the high level of speech.

4.   News Agency

News agency is an organization that collects news and supplies to newspapers, television and radio companies at a certain cost. News agencies collect news and sources  and sell them to other news organizations.

5.    Internet

The Internet has somehow challenged traditional news sources in many ways. It  is a storehouse of information. Reporters are finding it easy in collecting news sources  that they don’t need to run for news events instead information is right on their doorstep. Search engines such as google  and websites have countless information to provide.

Written Sources

Written reports can make an excellent source of information for a journalist. They are usually written after a lot of research by the authors, they have been checked for accuracy and are usually published with official approval.

However, just because information is printed, that does not mean that it is reliable. With typewriters, computers and modern technology, it is relatively easy to produce printed material. One must look at who has produced the document. Are they in a position to know enough about the topic and have access to the reliable facts? Do they have a reputation for reliability? This is especially important with information on the Internet. Anyone can put information onto the Internet. Unless the journalist knows how trustworthy they are, he/she cannot judge the reliability of what they write.

Leaked Document Sources

Documents are often leaked by people who believe that the public should know the contents (such as an environmental report), but who are unable to reveal it in public themselves, perhaps because they do not have the authority to do so. In some cases, documents are leaked by a person to gain an advantage over someone else, perhaps someone who is criticised in the report. Leaked documents are often excellent sources of news stories because they can contain information which someone wants to keep secret. This might be a plan to do something which the public might oppose, such as bulldozing homes to make a new road. It might be a report on corruption within an organisation which the heads of that organisation do not want to be publicly known.

There are also legal dangers to consider when using leaked documents. They might, for instance, have been stolen. It is usually an offence to receive stolen property if one thinks it could have been stolen, even if it is only a few sheets of paper. Photocopying the document then returning it is often a way to overcome this problem. Leaked documents could also be covered by copyright, so a journalist could be breaking the law by quoting directly from them. He/She is on safer ground in reporting the substance of what was said, in their own words.

Sources from Reporters

One of the most reliable sources of information (although not completely reliable) are other journalists. They may be  colleagues or reporters from a news agency which supplies one's organisation. If they are well trained, experienced and objective, their reports will usually be accurate and can be trusted. However, if there are any essential facts missing from their reports, these will have to be provided. Mistakes can happen. This is why news organisations should have a system for checking facts. A reporter's story should be checked by the news editor then the sub-editor. In small newsrooms, where the reporter may also be the editor or newsreader, the reporter must be especially careful in checking facts. There is also the danger that reporters misinterpret what they think they see and then present that as a fact. This often happens when reporting such things as the size of a crowd. Unable to count every person in it, they make an estimate, often sharing their guesses with other journalists on the scene. This is just an estimate and any report which says "there were 40,000 people present" should be treated with caution, unless the reporter knows the exact number who came through the gate. 

Tip-off Sources

Occasionally someone will call with a story tip-off but refuse to give their name. These are said to be anonymous (meaning "no name"). These are the most dangerous sources of information and should only be used with extreme caution. Although anonymous tip-offs can provide good story ideas, they must never be used without a lot of checking. If they are wrong, the concerned journalist will be held directly responsible unless he/she has checked what they said with other more reliable sources.

Often people who ring up with a tip-off will tell their name if asked, but on the promise that their name will not be revealed to anyone else. Journalists must still cross-check what they say because, of course, they cannot be quoted as a source if there is any dispute about accuracy. For example, if a journalist is taken to court for defamation.

 On the basis of storage and experience, sources can be classified into 

Stored sources

This refers to information a journalist can look up, in a book, in a library, on the Web – anywhere that information is recorded. The good news reporter knows sources of information and can find them quickly.

Once, this was considered the least useful of all types of sources for the journalist. The web has changed that, however. Now because of the web, stored information can be accessed quickly and readily, and that information is much more likely to be more recent. Even the web does not solve the basic problems of stored sources: they are static (they can’t be questioned) and they still may not contain the very latest information.

Observational Sources

This is information that a journalist can get from personal experience, by going to a city council meeting, a fire, a press conference, etc. Reporters like to be on the scene. They like to be at events. Covering news from an affair is not always satisfactory. They like to see with their own eyes, hear with their own ears. They like to talk to the people who are there and get the sights and sounds and smells of a news event. Being an eyewitness to something and being able to talk to people who have experienced it is an experience that cannot be duplicated. Reporters learn to prepare themselves to cover an event by

●  learning as much as they can about the event beforehand

●  getting into a position to see and hear what is going on

●  talking with people who are also experiencing the event

●  taking good notes; using a digital recorder; making notes to themselves immediately after the event

●  taking pictures

Personal sources

This is information that you get from talking to people. Most news reporters have to interview people to complete their news stories. Being able to talk to people — and getting people to talk to them — is one of the most important skills of reporters. Many people are reluctant to talk with reporters because they are afraid of being misquoted or afraid of the consequences of being in the news. Others are anxious to talk with reporters but they may not have good information or they may be pushing their own agenda or point of view. Reporters must learn to get the most from their sources by

● finding the right people to talk to (VERY IMPORTANT), rather than using “sources of convenience”

● respecting their feelings and position

● dealing with them ethically by identifying themselves, understanding the principles of on-the-record and off-the-record conversations, and maintaining the confidentiality of sources even when it is difficult to do so (such as being faced with going to jail)

● learning how to interview people properly

On the basis of occurrence, sources can be classified into

 Predictable News Source

Predictable News sources are sources that  are likely  to happen at a given time , date and location where the incidents take place. Such as  celebration, conference, festivals and parliamentary session etc.

 Unpredictable News Source

A type of news source where  incidents  occur all of a sudden and out of control. The reporters are unaware about the happening of these incidents. For example- landslides, earthquakes, shootings etc.

 Anticipated News Source

A type of news source where the information has to be investigated and  collected on the probability of making news. An example can be a reporter doing a beat report on crime.

 ATTRIBUTION 

When a journalist gets information from a source, he/she normally needs to attribute that information to someone. Attribution means to tell the readers or listeners the name and title of the person interviewed or the document from which the information is extracted. There are three levels of attribution, depending on whether the source is happy about being publicly identified or whether they want to maintain secrecy about what they tell. Based on attribution, sources can be classified into three types.

 On the Record

Most information given will be on the record. People will tell the details openly and allow the media to quote their names and titles. It is always best to get information on the record. On the record comments have an extra level of understanding for people because they know who is speaking and exactly what was said.

 Non-attributable

Sometimes a source will give information on the understanding that the information provided by them can be used but not attribute it to them. Source may do this for one of several reasons. Perhaps they are not officially allowed to give the information, but they think it could be made public. Perhaps they do not want to be in the public eye. Unattributed stories will not seem as accurate to the audience as stories where information is attributed.

 Off the record

Occasionally,  information will be given on the understanding that it is totally off the record. It usually means that both the information provided and the name of the source must not be disclosed. People usually give information off the record when they want the journalist to understand the background to something which is too sensitive for them to talk publicly about. 

 CONCLUSION 

Newswriting depends on information. The quality of the writing is tied to the quality of the information. The quality of the information depends on its source. All sources are said to be reliable if they can be believed consistently. If a source is always correct in the information they provide, it will be believed next time. If they make a mistake, one may doubt what they say. Reliability is built up over time. Thus, the reliability of all sources of information must be assessed to provide authentic content to the readers.

REFERENCES 

1. Tinka Tinka Dasna: Vartika Nanda: Tinka Tinka Foundation: 2020

2. Television aur Crime Reporting: Vartika Nanda: Rajkamal Prakashan: 2010

  https://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%203/volume3_59.htm

3     https://sonamchoekyi.wordpress.com/2016/01/13/sources-of-news/

4.   http://www.jprof.com/reporting/%E2%80%A2-sources-of-information/

5.    https://www.sociologygroup.com/news-sources-importance-in-journalism/