Sources of News

Every reporter has to develop and nurture news sources of his own. Some of these sources emanate from his beats and assignments; others are cultivated by him during the course of professional duties and through social contacts. Some of the important news sources are:

Government ministries and offices: In a country like India, where even today the political leadership and vast government bureaucracy take decisions on subjects of national interest, government ministries and offices constitute a major source of news. The ministers and senior officers of the government at the central level and in the states announce decisions; hold press conferences and their offices issue handouts. The media regularly covers the Address of the President to the Parliament, budget speeches of the Finance and Railway Ministers, and important policy announcements. Apart from the formal sources, informal contacts always help a reporter in getting at the news behind news.

Political parties: Always a big source of news, the ruling and opposition parties at the Centre and in the states, their policies and programmers, changing political loyalties and stances have been important for all journalists. Most of the newspapers have senior reporters assigned to political parties. A large quantity of gossips and speculation regularly emanate from political parties. In India political reporting at the national level has always been considered an important responsibility. Senior journalists, who cover political parties, have easy access to the government and political leaders. They also have sources, cultivated over a period of time, which help them build a perspective beyond the stated public positions of the political parties.

Most of the political parties have established media departments and senior leaders appointed spokespersons. National parties like Congress and BJP usually have more than one designated spokesperson. These parties hold press conferences and briefings regularly.

Civil society organizations: Civil society organizations, NGOs, trade unions and professional bodies have assumed increasingly significant role in the contemporary society. Several influential organizations, which have been working in important areas and have established national presence hold conferences, publish findings and conduct research on important sociopolitical aspects. Some of these espouse popular causes- upholding of human rights, environmental protection, women empowerment, education as a fundamental right, and several others. This gives media an opportunity for practicing serious journalism with a social purpose. In fact, there has been a regular interaction and even exchange of positions between journalists, NGOs and voluntary bodies. This also ensures that the media works in an open environment.

Business and commercial organizations: In this age of liberalization and privatization, where the economic scenario has been undergoing fundamental changes, these organizations have been playing an important consultative role in shaping and formulating business and economic policies. These bodies regularly interact with the media and whenever an economic issue came up, their representatives are contacted for presenting their paints of view. Several national level apex business organizations-FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries), and ICI (Indian Confederation of Industries), ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers 0.1 Commerce and Industry of India)-play a leading role in helping shape the economic policies of the country. They organize seminars, hold conferences and meets and provide a forum to the political leaders and captains of industry to spell out their views on relevant subjects. It is, therefore, essential far a reporter to build his awn sources in these organizations so that he gets a comprehensive view an important matter in cases where contentious issues are involved.

Hospitals: An important source for information about accidents, disease and death all newspaper organizations and concerned reporters maintain regular contact with hospitals.

Specialists and experts: It is worthwhile for any news organization to have lists of specialists and experts in different fields who can be contacted for an opinion or a quote on some new development. The quantum of news coming up in the media these days is so vast and on so many subjects that it is essential for a media organization to maintain a panel on subjects such as industry, law, education, defense, constitutional affairs and such other subjects which are currently in news.

An imaginative and upcoming reporter will make his own source list and never lose sight of the need to amend it. Some of these sources need checking everyday of the week because they prove useful for his information. News sources such as public meetings, press conferences, news briefing and seminars are available to all the reporters. But his own contacts provide exclusive information to the reporter. Some of these sources may like to be quoted for publicity. On occasions they may like to give their opinion on the condition of anonymity. In that case, it is essential for the reporter to maintain the confidence of the contact. The reporter must treat his sources as absolutely confidential. At times, there may be pressure on the journalist from the government or judiciary to disclose the source of his news. The journalist must maintain the confidentiality of the source under all circumstances.

News Sources & Their Solutions: Reporters depend upon many sources for collecting facts and figures. For ideal reporting they do not carry fixed ideas. They analyze and comment judiciously and intelligently.

The news reporter in quest of facts plans his strategy to fit the occasion adapting his line of questions to the situation. Responsible news reporter make notes to be sure that they have statements or figures 10 the form in which they were presented.

It is not necessary -for them to master shorthand. In fact, the typical news reporter has his own system of shortcuts and abbreviations. He should take notes unobtrusively, recording them in an order which will enable him to write his own story quickly or telephone details to the rewrite man.

The Telephone: The news reporter should be adept in telephoning the news, for many of his stories are relayed to the rewrite man. Speaking clearly, he should sketch the facts of his news story in the order they are wanted. He should exercise particular care in reporting names and numbers. It is good practice for the news reporter to note the location of nearby telephones whenever he is covering the news.

To get the news, the reporter may talk to all kinds of people. He is aware of both what they say and how they say it, nothing also what they fail or refuse to say. He sees the wink, shrug, scowl, or attempt to slug him. The interaction of groups as well as individuals interests him too, as he covers meetings and parades, riots and trials, games and conventions ward gatherings and UN sessions 2.

Recourse to Public Records: Essentially a fact-finder, the news reporter examines releases, reports, and records. It is a part of his job to know which public records he as a citizen may inspect. He learns to differentiate between news and puffery and propaganda as he sifts facts supplied by the government, organizations, institutions, corporations, and foundations, for such material often reflects the bias of those who prepare it.

News is not always available for the asking. What, then, should the news reporter do if he cannot get his news through normal channels? Should he become a peeping Tom or break in’ to snatch a photograph? Should he masquerade as a repairman or deputy sheriff? Should he resort to blackmail or violent tactics? There questions, of course, have been answered by news reporters off and on the screen.

Temptations to tamper with the facts come to news reporter as to all men. Both Mark Twain and Edger Allan Poe, for example, perpetrated hoaxes. Other news reporter may feel that a few changes in detail will make a more interesting story. These temptations, whether based on good motives or bad, should be resisted, for any form of faking may be a discredit to all news reporters and news media.

Accent on Accuracy: Accent on accuracy is not new in journalism. The newspaper should be a “a faithful recorder”. The newspaper should diffuse correct information. The professional news reporter, therefore, verifies the facts he gathers. He avoids bias, prejudice, exaggeration, misrepresentation. A competent observer, he weighs the evidence of his news sources carefully, checking them all more carefully if he suspects that they are unreliable or corrupt. He does not guess at little details—street addresses, middle initials, football scores, budget totals, traffic violations. He knows that ‘the story loses fifty percent of its punch— where the name in misspelled.

Occasionally the news reporter gathers facts that may not be disclosed immediately. Investigating grant, corruption, or crime, he may obtain details from sources he may not be in a position to mention. Now and then a news reporter is jailed because he refuses to identify his sources. The “newspapermen may refuse to reveal confidences or disclose sources of confidential information in court or before judicial or investigating bodies.

Off-the Record Commentary: Similarly, news reporters are not supposed to report in the news what is told to them “off the record Before World War 11 leaders in public affairs developed the practice of talking “off the record” ; that is, of taking reporters into their confidence and telling them background details. This practice in press conferences was helpful, for it helped news reporter to interpret the news later if the information or explanation was released officially.

If the news reporter is to be a resourceful researcher, he must understand the news he investigates. If he covers labour, crime, business, science, or agriculture, for example, he needs more than a superficial knowledge of the subject In fact; he should be a specialist as well as a general practitioner, for he should be able to talk on even terms with men and women who devote their lives to a specialized activity. At the same time, he should realize that the demand for such experts is not great enough yet for him to forget how to write routine news.

Handling the Sources: Reporters too often tend to take for granted their sources of information. A “source”, in the newspaper sense, is not a cold fountain of information— it is a human being, fascinatingly complex like most human beings. The handling of a source demands as much in human terms from a reporter as the handling of a news story demands in professional terms. Here are some tips based entirely on personal experience.

On Cultivating a Source: First of all, study your beat — whether it is Parliament, or the Foreign Ministry, or the Town Council, or the Medical Association. In every Government department, or every institution, there is a handful of man who actually does all the work. These are the “front men” — those who give a department or ministry or public institution its public face — and the “behind the scenes” men who are intimately aware of every detail of the working of such an institution. Make a close study, for days, of what makes a particular department “tick”; who knows, in detail, what is going on; who is the quiet, non-entity who keeps the place doing its daily job.

Deciding on your contact: Once you have studied an institution, decide on your contact, or source. Do not allow your decision to be guided by other newspapermen’s habits.

Making and Maintaining the Contact: Make the contact, maintain the contact. Most goods newspapermen today maintain their own kind of private filing system— a good alphabetically arranged diary will to do to begin with. Note down phone numbers of your contacts (both official and residential), and addresses, and telegraphic addresses, too. If your contacts have a private (unregistered) line, try to get it. You never know when these will be useful. Never pass on private numbers to fellow reporters. Keep your diary up to date.

Knowing the Background of the Contact: Know your contact. Know his name, how he spells it, and how he pronounces it. Know his background — where was he born -; what kind of parents; where did he study; for example, is he interested in sailing, or racing or swimming; where can you find him at his most relaxed; what are the books he reads, or the newspapers he considers important; who are his friends; who knows his hero figures.

Letting the contact know about you: Let your contact know you. This is the main weakness of reporters; the better they are the more careless they are. Let him know your paper, too. Does he read it? Why not? Whenever you have used information provided by him for a story (even for background) see that he gets a copy of your paper — if the story is not published, send him a copy of your story, anyway. If you have used a contact “causally,” used a photographer, it is even more important to let him have a copy (or a set of complimentary photographs). Too often we tend to feel “Oh, I shall not have to see this person again” — and too often one realizes too late that one has to see the source again. Let him know more about you — what kind of a person you are, that you have integrity as a reporter. It is the frightened reporter (or the irresponsible one) who will be afraid to let a contact know about him.

Using the source adequately: Use your source only when needed. Many reporters, especially on routine stories, or routine beats, tend to take advantage of their privilege as journalists and waste the time of “sources” who are really very busy. In the long run you will discover that this causes annoyance. Especially if you can check things at a lower level, do not waste a good source.

However, it is sometimes necessary to “show your face”. This means, in a reporter’s routine, that it is sometimes necessary to call on a source when you actually need no information at all. Just call, provided the source has time, and surprise the source by not asking for anything, Show that you are interested in him, for himself, ; in just maintaining contact.

Keeping an Alternative Source: In any Beat always have another source. Certainly in political stories it is necessary to have an opposition source, but generally it is a good idea to have an option of another source of information. Sources are human — and one day you may find’ your source going sour on you for reasons you don’t know. Equally important, there are times when you may have to crosscheck; a story might sound slightly wrong unless it is corroborated.

Feeding the Source with facts: Sometimes you may have to feed your Source with News. Let us imagine you have heard of some news. However, you have not heard from your regular source — or, that news is worthless to you unless it has the stamp of authority, unless it is confirmed by a good source. You would then have to act as a source of news— in order to get it stamped with authority. Remember, in feeding your source that you should make it clear that you reserve the right to check again with other sources, in case your source can tell you nothing.

Keeping faith in the Source: Never break a confidence — even telling another reporter is a breach of confidence — if something has been told you for background information, or as “off the record” with perfectly good reason why it should be “off the record”. Never tell one source what another source says. Never tell a source anything that can be easily identified as coming from only one other person. Never tell a source what you believe to be true without knowing it to be true. Always make clear to your source how you are using his information.

Offbeat Sources: Publications of special bodies, publishers’ proof copies, trade bulletins, readers’ letters— these are a few examples of off-beat sources of news. Learn to have a regular system of looking at these sources which others tend to ignore.

Finally, never use another newspaperman as a source of news. This may prove to be a cardinal sin. If a fellow reporter tells you something, check it, get it as news for yourself — then use it. If you can’t check it, remember it is better to be beaten on the story.