ResearchNews Gathering

How do reporters get the information they usein news and feature articles?

In this presentation you will learn several methods, which you will practice in class and for homework.

Observation

Often, reporters witness an event as part of their story coverage.

This allows reporters to gain a first-hand perspective on the story.

It’s good to be there and see it with your own eyes. But you need more …

WHAT ELSE?

InterviewingYes, interviewing is a primary tool that you will use to gather information.

It’s a must for local reporting. But before you go out interview people, you need to know what to ask.

How can you learn about a topic, event, sport or issue before an interview?

Research!

Some student journalists think they can skip the research techniques that professionals use to effectively report the news.

Not so. Reporters, even beginners, are expected to get the facts and tell stories that are relevant, timely and accurate.

Why do research?

• Develop background knowledge on an assigned story or topic.

• Find reliable, expert sources. • Discover questions.• Tell the story thoroughly,

honestly, and objectively.What research tools do you have available to use?

Research toolsInterviewsObservationInternet searchesBooks and journalsScholarly articlesTranscripts and other documentsCrowdsourcing and open-source journalism

Panel discussionsPress conferencesPress releasesDocumentary films and videosPolls and surveysDatabasesPublic records

Doing research

Technology has changed the way that journalists perform research.

It also presents challenges regarding verification and validity of information.

Do you believe everything you read on the Internet?

Why not?

Consider the source:

Books and journals

Yep, they’re old-fashioned. But for in-depth reporting and topical coverage, books and journals contain solid, reliable information.

Often, new material is created by researchers and scholars in a timely fashion, allowing journalists to gain up-to-date background information on topics of current interest – in online journals.

Computer-assisted reporting

This is simply using computers to report on stories.

CAR includes the use of databases, public records, social media and Internet searches to develop background and gather information.

The key: Consider the source.

Computer-assisted reporting:

Internet Searches

Wikipedia isn’t bad as a place to start your Internet research, but it shouldn’t end there.

What’s better? • Websites devoted to your topic• Links to articles about your topic• Articles that tell you where the information

comes from• Articles that have dates indicating when the

information was posted

Is it valid?

Always ask this question when you are researching on the Internet. How do you know?

• Sources of information are cited.• The website is created by a well-known

organization, such as news media, a U.S. government site or a large organization devoted to your topic, such as the American Cancer Society or WebMD.

• Articles include dates when the information was posted.

Is it valid?

How do you know?• The author is identified and credentials are

cited.• The site provides a way for you to contact the

author.• You can verify the information elsewhere.• The site has no errors in spelling, grammar or

facts.• The site is updated regularly.

Is it valid?Is the information presented in a fair and balanced way?

• What point of view does the sponsor of the site have? If this organization has a slanted agenda, can you trust it to be fair?

• Facts are presented as facts and opinions are clearly labeled.

• Feedback from readers is encouraged or at least allowed.

• Do you think this might be a hoax?

Is it valid?

Is this a hoax?• If it’s too good or to weird to be true, it

probably is.• Even if you’d love it to be true, check it out.

Sites such as The Onion, The Daily Current and the National Report present fake news as satire.

• Use snopes.com or urbanlegends.com to check it out if you’re not sure.

The Eleventh Commandment

DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!

This is easy to avoid. You just have to CITE YOUR SOURCES!

Cite your sources

Quote the source and credit it. If you quote directly from any source – even a web site – put the words inside quotation marks and attribute the quote.

Even if you paraphrase, you still need to tell readers where the information came from.

Better to cite the source and be safe, even if you rework and reword it so that it’s more your writing than the source’s.

ACTIVITY

How would you research this?

Each student will be given a scenario. You will research this scenario and decide how and where to get more information if you were writing about it for your student news media.

You will correctly cite one related Internet source as if you were using it in a news story, and explain why it is a valid source.

Research: Internet and

BeyondAn overview of other research techniques

Computer-assisted reporting:

Documents

These are often recorded evidence of events, transcripts of speeches, copies of transactions and research-based writings.

Documents can provide first-hand or official accounts of news-related events. They are often primary sources.

Computer-assisted reporting:

Articles databases

Your school library and public library have databases, such as Gale’s, Jstor (www.jstor.org) and others, where you can search journals, magazines, newspapers and other publications by topic.

Other useful articles databases include:

http://journalistsresource.org

http://www.journaliststoolbox.org/http://www.ipl.org/

Computer-assisted reporting:

Databases of dataMany government agencies have databases of public records available to all citizens.

Professional journalists have access to journalistic databases such as IRE and LexisNexis to perform extensive.

These databases offer statistical data, public records, and spreadsheets to help with the reporting process.

Computer-Assisted Reporting:

Crowdsourcing

Using social media and other Internet-based tools, reporters can quickly gather information from a large group of people at once.

Even more than other sources, crowd-sourced information should be thoroughly fact-checked prior to publication.

Crowdsourcing may be as simple as reporting what people are posting on social media sites about a given topic or event.

Or it might be posing a question on Twitter and having followers respond.

Computer-Assisted reporting:

Crowdsourcing

Computer-assisted reporting:

CrowdsourcingStorify – a social outlet that strings together Twitter and Facebook responses to a single topic.

HootSuite – a social media dashboard that lets you monitor multiple social media accounts and search for keywords in various apps

Google Forms – Found in the Google Drive, these forms let you use your social contacts to conduct polls or surveys.

Computer-assisted reporting:

Open source journalism

Similar to crowdsourcing, but with a little more control.

Through blogs, social media and websites such as DocumentCloud, journalists work with concerned citizens and others to gather information and data for a specific story or topic.

Can scholastic journalists do the same? Consider the possibilities.

Computer-assisted reporting:

Open source journalism

Scholastic journalists, regionally or even nationally, might collaborate on topical coverage. Sports coverage may be enhanced, especially objectively, with reporters from competing schools working together to cover sport events. Social media allows this to happen easily.

Computer-assisted reporting:

Twitter feed

Use a Twitter account to follow media sites, journalists, prominent individuals, entertainment industry, nonprofits, businesses, government organizations, school groups or whatever makes news in your community.

Profnet

http://www.prnewswire.com/profnet/profnet-journalists/

When you need an expert source, you can use this service to locate one. You can target your query by geographic location to get a local expert, as well as someone who understands your topic.

Make sure you prepare for this interview ahead of time!

Documentaries

Especially with topical coverage, documentaries provide an excellent way to gain background. News programs such as 60 Minutes and Frontline provide investigative journalism on many current topics.

Can you name other recent documentaries that brought issues into the news?

Panel discussions

As a research tool, panel discussions provide a chance to gain expert insight on an issue.

Panel discussions best suit team reporting or extensive coverage on a timely issue. This is a great format for special issue coverage.

You can sponsor a panel discussion or attend one organized by someone else.

Polls and surveys

Often used as part of a story package, polls and surveys can also be used alone in yearbooks and as special features in newspapers, web sites and broadcasts.

You can use polls to compare to others taken at different times, locales, or with other population samples.

Polls and surveysScientific polling is a process that should be planned well and executed properly.

Straw polls are the most commonly used by scholastic journalists. They are the least reliable and often invalid. To conduct more valid polls, you must survey a large enough random sample of your population and pretest your questions.

Press conferences

Often, with breaking news stories, press conferences are set up to provide group access to key individuals involved in the event or incident.

While journalists often use this as a way to gather quotes, press conferences also provide background information for future stories.

Press conferences

Within a scholastic journalism class, press conferences may be set up to develop story ideas, provide background on topical coverage, and gather information for stories already in progress. Press conferences may be set up for a whole class or for smaller groups.

Press releasesInformation is provided to media organizations for public relations or promotion, often as a means to gain coverage.

Journalists must understand that they provide only one point of view and may be self-serving.

Reporters use this information as a starting point in reporting a story if newsworthy, not as the only information published.

Press releases

Take note: Press releases often are used to get one side of the story out to the public.

Be skeptical with press releases. Often, press releases offer a great start in reporting a story, but do research beyond the release itself.

Public records

Examples of public records: police reports, marriage and divorce records, health inspections, business licenses, property ownership, court proceedings, census data, campaign donations and consumer protection documents.

Public records

Within high schools, access to public records is based on local and state regulations.

FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) relates only to specific education records held by the school.

Other records, such as overall test scores and police reports, should be available for public access.

ACTIVITY

Complete the scenarios handout.