JOUR 1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Investigative Journalism, Factiva, Michel Trudeau
19 Jun 2018
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Sources in Journalism
You can be your own source- when you witness events. When you are being your own source you still
have to double check- did I see that? Did I hear that?
You almost always need outside sources to tell a story. Sources are almost always human beings, or
documents.
The Importance of Sources:
- Bedrock of reporting
- Apart from our own observation, it’s all we’ve got
- Human and otherwise- humans can be the best source
- Credibility, reporting, the real world
- For the record, you create some reality by finding people who have information and sharing it
with others
- Your original contribution
Digging Deeper:
- Guide to investigative journalism
- Media
- Public records
- Access to information
- The courts
- Financial records
Journalism Industry Standards:
- Good use of sources is the trademark of the excellent reporter
- Cultivating sources (have a conversation, not an interview)- a skill you have to acquire, people
make the mistake of having a conversation for the very first time in which you ask for
something. Have conversations, tell them it is not an interview, and ask them if it is okay to call
them back. Rate of success goes up greatly
- The danger of developing personal relationships- it is okay to go for drinks with people and
occasionally go out for a social interaction, don’t cross the line where you become their friend.
Be friendly, not friends.
- Named sources usually the most credible- what you are aiming for, but you can’t always
accomplish it. It is the least complicated. You want to have people speaking to you on the
record.
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find more resources at oneclass.com
- Proceed with caution when using anonymous sources
Anonymous Sources:
- Push to use names
- Triangulate information from anonymous sources
- Anonymity can be justified (public interest)
- Source does not have an agenda
- Don’t put names on anonymous sources in notebook or email
- Whistleblowers
- When is it okay to talk to someone on the basis that you won’t identify them?
- Be careful how you communicate with them- if you put their name in your notebooks, email,
you may have to use their name in court- respect their wishes
Reuters on Anonymous Sources
- “Every source who talks to a Reuters reporter has a motive. Try to identify that motive and the
“spin” that comes with the information, and weigh it against other information you have
obtained…”
- Everyone has a motive- understand their motive. (They care about the topic, they want to be in
the paper)
A caution on anonymous Sources:
- Be aware of axe grinders
- “We can never allow our sources to make allegations, contentious statements or vituperative
attacks behind a cloak of anonymity. It weakens our credibility and gives the sources an
opportunity to benefit CONTINUE.”
Reuters on Relationships:
“We encourage… CONTINUE.”
- Be careful of being too friendly. Sometimes they will use you to leak a document, may not be
your friend.
Dealing with Sources:
- Establish ground rules
- On the record
- Off the record
- Not for attribution
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find more resources at oneclass.com
- On background
- “Just between you and me.”
- “You can use this but you can’t use my name.”
- “I don’t want you recording this in any way.”
- Example: The spokesperson of WW2 was having dinner with the president at the time of Pearl
Harbour. The president told him of the bombing off the record but the news didn’t get released
until 24 hours later. This essentially doesn’t exist anymore. Ask people what they mean- so I
can’t use this at all? Is it okay if I act on this information? What are your terms? Rarely is the
information off the record. Usually you can’t identify who gave you this information.
Social Media as a Source:
- GET TWO QUOTES
- Verified accounts
- Contact person who runs the account, made the tweet
- You have to be careful when verifying the information from social media
Diversity in Accuracy:
- The reality of our society is that it is very diverse
- Be conscious of this- you chose who are going to seek out as sources
- You are trying to get regular people when finding sources- ensure you are quoting ALL people
- Don’t just quote; white, middle-class9, university educated, males
Cross your fault lines:
- Race/ethnicity
- Gender
- Class- high income, middle income, low income
- Generation
- Geography: urban, suburban, rural, neighbourhood
People vs. Paper
Human Sources Documentary Sources
People bring your story to life
People are amazing repositories of information
People lead you to other people Once you find where they are, always avaliable
People lead you to paper Paper leads you to people
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
You can be your own source- when you witness events. You almost always need outside sources to tell a story. Sources are almost always human beings, or documents. Apart from our own observation, it"s all we"ve got. Human and otherwise- humans can be the best source. For the record, you create some reality by finding people who have information and sharing it with others. Good use of sources is the trademark of the excellent reporter. Cultivating sources (have a conversation, not an interview)- a skill you have to acquire, people make the mistake of having a conversation for the very first time in which you ask for something. Have conversations, tell them it is not an interview, and ask them if it is okay to call them back. The danger of developing personal relationships- it is okay to go for drinks with people and occasionally go out for a social interaction, don"t cross the line where you become their friend.
