News sources are essential if a journalist is going to find important news stories. They are where we get our information. Without them we will be staring at a blank page.
They come in two formats – documents and people. And, considering that people write and distribute documents, they – the people – are the most important sources.
Documents, such as news/press releases can be sources, as can financial, political and crime reports. Even an article published by a rival news organisation is a news source; so, too, are the news wires.
But the main sources that a journalist needs to manage throughout their career are human – whether they are politicans, the boss of a local company, a homeless person on the street, or a neighbour – they all need handling with care.
The importance of news sources
On my first day as a junior reporter on my local newspaper, my news editor welcomed me with the words “have you got a story for me?”. I didn’t, and so he handed me a boring news/press release and told me to sit at a desk in the corner of the newsroom and knock out a few paragraphs.
All around me journalists were thumbing through their contact books, making phone calls, jotting down notes, or typing (this was 1979). They all seemed busy. A few, who had been out and about talking to their sources stormed in and immediately began bashing out stories.
There were two books waiting for me on my desk, the newspaper’s style-guide and a brand new contacts book. It was clear to me what I needed to do. I needed contacts. And these would be my sources for the next three years.
Building trust
Learning how to handle human sources is an important part of learning to be a journalist. And building trust is central to that. Without trust, it’s likely sources will stop talking and stories will dry up.
To build that trust a journalist needs to be honest at every stage of the newsgathering process. You must tell the source who you are, who you work for, and why you want to talk to them. You must always state that you are a journalist. Being honest builds trust, and trust results in openness.
Source motivation
Some sources are wary about talking to journalists – and rightly so. Others thrive on it – sometimes for the wrong reason.
For some sources, getting their picture in the paper, appearing on a news organisation’s website, or hearing their voice on the radio and seeing their face on TV is a massive achievement, and they want everyone to know.
Others will want to remain anonymous, especially those for whom talking to a journalist involves risk.
They might be afraid of reprisals, especially if they are what’s known as a whistleblower (a person who reveals information about wrongdoing, illegal activity, or dangers within their organisation).
Some victims of crime are often afraid to come forward and talk, others are eager to have their voice heard as part of their attempts to seek justice.
So a journalist needs to be careful what they publish after talking to a source. They need to make sure they don’t put those who have put their trust in them – and shared important information – in any kind of danger.
Manipulation
There will be those who try to use a journalist for their own ends. That’s fair enough; the journalist is also intending to use the source for investigation purposes as part of their job. However, in all cases, a journalist needs to understand the motives of those they are talking to.
In our article Why would anyone want to talk to a journalist?’ investigative journalist Don Ray set out some of the motives he encountered over more than 40 years of reporting. In another piece on MHM about interviewing politicians we looked at the reasons some politicians will talk to the media.
In many cases a source knows that the journalist needs the information they have, so they might try to do deals or they might try to become over friendly. Journalists need to remain professionally distant from their sources. They can’t afford to be pressured in any way that would affect their journalistic integrity.
Some of the time sources will be giving you leaks and tip-offs. This is another area where careful handling of sources is important. Nic Jones has written a piece for MHM containing his advice for ‘Handling story leaks and tip-offs’.
Returning favours
I had an experience once when I was a bi-media parliamentary/political correspondent working at the national parliament. A member of parliament (MP) who I interviewed – about a routine constituency issue – apparently considered his contribution to my report as a favour for which he expected some sort of return at a later date – I was unaware of this at the time, probably due to naivety; I was new to the job.
Three months later the MP called with a non-story expecting me to cover it to “return the favour”. I didn’t, but I realised then that his understanding of our contact was that of a mutually beneficial relationship rather than seeing me as a journalist doing my job and a politician doing his. In this case I referred the issue up to my editor just to be sure I was doing the right thing. My editor wanted to know whether I had entered any sort of understanding with the MP, which I hadn’t.
Special relationships
In our MHM article about the relationship between journalists and politicians we look at how some journalists can become compromised while others retain their integrity.
All compromising approaches must be refused. You should never do deals with a source. If in doubt always refer up to your editor.
If you become too close to the source it can lead to self-censorship (when you stop yourself reporting something because you have become compromised).
And this self-censorship can often be hard to detect. A journalist might feel obliged to tone down what they report so as not to upset the source fearing that if you do they won’t talk to them again. Such self-censorship and has no part in journalism.
Every source has a motive
When you find a source who is willing to talk to you, you need to ask yourself why that is. Are you being used to spin a line, to spread fake news, to settle a score, or are you being offered previously unpublished information with no strings attached?
You must always seek out a second source – independent of the first – to check what you have been told. Fact-checking what a source tells you is an essential part of the process.
Conflict of interests
It’s important that journalists are aware of any conflict of interests when dealing with sources. If there are any, the journalist should inform their editor immediately and, if needed, hand the story to someone else.
When I was a local radio reporter, a politician I was interviewing discovered that my fiancé was the daughter of a senior figure in an on-going political story involving the local authority and the national government. I had built, what was up to then, a trusted relationship with the politician and hadn’t considered that my private life had any bearing on the story, but, after a talk with my editor it was decided, rightly, that I should be taken off the story.
There was no potential gain for me in this apparent conflict-of-interest, but that wasn’t the point. The point was how this information could be used to possibly manipulate me and my news organisation, not necessarily by the politician but by others. I promptly handed my contact’s details over to our local government correspondent who took the story on.
Protecting sources
As well as taking steps to protect themselves and their news organisations, journalists also need to protect their sources.
If those you are talking to fear they will lose their jobs, get in trouble with the law, or be put in any kind of danger they will stop talking to you.
If the source wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons you need to talk to your editor to both inform them and to decide whether to proceed with any interviews.
Your editor needs to know who you are talking to, what about, and why it matters.
If they agree that the source should remain anonymous you then give the source your word that you won’t reveal their name other than to your editor.
In most countries, protecting journalistic sources is protected by law, but it’s not absolutely safe from legal challenge. You need to be aware of the laws in the country where you are working and ensure that you, your editor, and your news organisations legal team are aware that you are granting anonymity to a source who might otherwise be in danger.
Keeping in touch
If you value a source it’s a good idea to keep in touch, and not just when you need them. Checking in from time to time to make sure they are okay will mean that they are there for you if you need them again.
You should also make follow-up calls every now and then to see how any stories they were involved in have developed. When I worked on my local newspaper one of the journalists would regularly go through her contacts book and make what she called “checking in” calls to her most important sources.
It’s good to build up a wide range of sources. Using the same stories time and time again is not a good look. It also limits your journalism. You need to keep updating your contacts book with new names each with different specialisms and interests that you can call on when needed.
Sources are not journalists
When talking to sources you need to make sure they understand what is meant by ‘off the record’ and ‘on the record’. They might not realise there are options. We should never presume they know how a newsroom works and what happens to the information they share once it’s published.
When I was the managing editor of a news website there was an incident when a person interviewed complained that their words were used on multiple platforms. They hadn’t understood that we were working in a converged newsroom publishing information on all digital devices.
It was obvious to me, but came as a surprise to the contributor. It takes seconds to inform the source that whatever they say will enter a database for all the news organisation’s outlets to use. And it could go viral on social media.
As journalists we easily fall into the trap of using clichés, jargon and journalese. Don’t, your source might not have a clue what you are on about. You need to talk to them in simple language so that they understand what is being asked of them, what is expected of them, and how their words will be used.
Most importantly treasure your contacts book. It is your entry into the lives of people who will explain the impact of the news that’s happening around us all. They are your source of news.
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