Journalism
constantly involves humanity. There are always new and fascinating thing for
people know. The aim is the same in all form of journalism whether radio,
television, magazines or internet. The journalist as a news finder or fact
finder or reporter to pass over, when an event occurred, the journalist asked
himself:
i.
How relevant is the
event to the audience of the medium?
ii.
How useful is it to
them?
iii.
Of what interest is it
to the audience or public?
iv.
How relevant is the
event to the audience of the medium?
v.
How useful is it to
them?
vi.
Of what interest is it
to the audience or public?
From
the above questions, the journalist draws guidelines for judging the news of
any events, issues. Furthermore, if the event involves well known people, if it
is unusual, significant, odd and consequential is newsworthy.
Man had
always had appetite for news and his hunger for it has increase over the years.
As it is said, man did not live by bread alone, his other necessity is
communication. In connection, journalism performs an explaining function to the
society exposition. Such as:
What happen?
To whom?
Why?
Who?
These
are questions that live in the study of journalism and the functions of
journalism. The occupation of journalism is news and news all the time. He must
seek it or pursuit it and ensure it through the channel of communication.
Schramm
and Roberts (1971), says people follow the news to be sensitive to available
ability and to be forewarn about possible dangers ahead. As a result,
journalism tries to satisfy these curiosities. Communication is essential to
the survival of man in the society. Man communicates to live and live to
communicate.
WHAT IS JOURNALISM?
Journalism is the art of investigating and reporting
of events which include illustration. The reporting may comes in form of
documentary, article or in a photo.
Journalism
is the mirror held to life and the mirror should reflect only what is real. It
connects people with the news and through the news to the larger world. It
monitors the universe on our behalf. According to Mencher (1994), he says
journalism capture the success, failure, and sadness of daily lives locally,
nationally and internationally. He asked that the body of journalism is fact
but people are at it very heart. They give it life, worms and meaning. What
people do, what affects them, what they are involves in, constitute what
journalism report on every day. Therefore, people shape their direction of
destiny of journalism. The purpose of journalism is to make the world a better
place for all.
According
to Kamath (2008), a professional journalist is the one who is on the pay-roll
of a newspaper, magazine, radio or a television station. He report or he may
write future, editorial or edit a copy. He is known by different names such as
reporter, future writer, news editor etc.
The
range of work is as wide as the world around him. He may report on crime, law
and order, political development, the executive, the legislature, people,
fashion, music, drama, indeed whatever made news. A journalist does more than
that. He edits what others write. He comments and criticized and put together
the news.
The
journalist must be a specialist. As all he thinks, there is no end to a
journalist learning because you will be inform and educate others who heavily
rely on the media to be introduce to places and event beyond their immediate
world.
JOURNALISM
AND MASS COMMUNICATION
Even if
Mass Communication and Journalism seems similar, both are entirely different
streams. The two a clearly discus below for easy clarification.
DIFFERENCES:
i.
Mass Communication deals
with the procedure of conveying or transmitting a message to the general
population through media like radio, newspapers, magazines, television, and
internet and so on. However, Journalism is concerned with the compilation and
transmission of news through the print media and electronic media.
ii.
The circulation of
information to a wide range of populace remains the key function of mass
communications whereas journalism requires investigation and coverage of any
incident, occurrence or contemporary affairs, through mass media like the
print, televise or new media, whereby lots of people all through the world may
be able to know what is happening all over the world.
iii.
Also careers in Mass
Communication are vast sector that comprises of so many branches. Aspirants can
study their interesting subjects in mass communication. There are many graduate
and postgraduate programs in Mass Communication. Numerous leading educational
institutions offer diverse courses in the concerned fields. There are also
Diploma courses in mass communication. A graduation in the respective fields is
a requisite for the entry-level jobs. Aspirants who have completed the various
courses in mass communication can seek out for career in private and public
sector. Those who pursue the research programs in mass communication can become
research analysts in the related areas. Various opportunities are available in
commercial world, publishing houses, film industry, media industry, image management
agencies and so on for these mass communication professionals.
Journalism courses and career opportunities.
There are so many courses in journalism that an aspirant can pursue. It
includes Bachelors’, Masters’ and even diploma courses. To become a journalist,
aspirants should have at least a graduation in journalism. Detailed awareness
in political science, economics, and English language will be really helpful in
honing the talents of a journalist. Those who have flair in photography can opt
for photojournalism. Journalists have wide scope in India and in foreign
countries. They can seek out for careers in print media like newspapers or
journals as editors, proof-readers, cartoonist, and features writer and so on.
Likewise, in the electronic modes of communication, they can get employed as
researchers, production workers, presenters and so on.
iv.
Mass communication is an
art while journalism is an act. Journalism stands as a profession while mass
communication serves as occupation. Journalism gathers information while mass
communication transmits the information.
SIMILARITIES
Journalism
and mass communication live interdependently for survival. This means that
without journalism, mass communication cannot exist. While without mass
communication journalism efforts will be fruitless. This is so as mass
communication need information which has been gathered by journalism and
transmits it to the public, while journalism need mass communication to pass
the information it gathered to the public. Another similarity is their ability
of using the mass media to achieve their aims.
FORMS OF JOURNALISM
1.
ADVOCACY JOURNALISM:
This type of journalism is where a journalist specialised in writing a story in
support of public plan or action. The aim of such journalism is to create
awareness to the public.
2.
BROADCAST JOURNALISM:
This is the journalism where a journalist specialised in transmitting
information through radio (audio) or television (audio/visual).
3.
PHOTO JOURNALISM: This
is where a journalist specialised in arranging photos in order to pass or
transmit information to the public.
4. INVESTIGATIVE
JOURNALISM: This type of journalism is based on research to find information
and transmit it to the public.
5. TABLOID JOURNALISM:
This type of journalism is where a journalist engage in writing articles, a lot
of pictures and stories about famous people. This type of journalism is more or
less sensational.
6. YELLOW JOURNALISM:
This journalism involves the writing of articles, stories and features about
people or events which is less factual and current. The writer achieve his aim
through exaggeration.
7. CITIZEN JOURNALISM:
This is a situation where citizens who are not a journalist by profession
engage themselves in writing stories, articles and features for the mass media
to transmit them to the public.
8. ONLINE JOURNALISM:
This is an internet application to the mass media where a journalist write
stories, take photos and videos and upload it to the net for public to access
the information electronically.
JOURNALISTIC
CONCEPT
NEWS
WHAT IS NEWS?
The definition of news
is view by many scholars and none is universally accepted. This is because the
term news is elusive, slippery and unfixed. News is a report or an account of
event that is new, fresh, timely, untimely, happening, has happened, usual,
unusual, strange, accurate, inaccurate unique, abnormality, unexpected and
nearness of event and interesting to large number of viewers.
The
American College Dictionary defines news as "A report of any recent event
or situation and as the report of event published in a newspaper"
According to Lord Northcliffe' "if a dog bites a man it is no news but if
a man bites a dog it's news."
News is a submission of
the reporter in the news room. It can be term simply as whatever the media
report or transmit to the public. This is so as only the media houses that
decide whether a report is a news worthy or not. And it remains the most
significant, most popular and most interesting form of the media.
Girais
Salama said that news is a report of unbiased and real and retain unknown
information that affect the life, welfare and interest of the readers, viewers
and listener.
According
to Hillard (1978), news is any real happening that may have an interest or
effect on people. Therefore, accident, fires, business, public meeting, crime,
celebration etc all provide materials for news.
Akinteleye
(1987) says, news is an account of unusual event which is more or less compel
into reporting.
Kareem (1991) observe
that, news is what sales on paper to the public.
Simply
put, news is information about events, people or issue that members of the
public wants or need to know according to Levin (2000). Reporters often refer
to news as stories. He further observed that another quick way to test if
something is news is to ask yourself, " Who cares?" if you think
enough of your readers, you may need to know if your report is probably news
worthy.
News is
in fact a communication between human beings from the earliest period of human
civilisation. News is information about an event, some development plan, and
movement of important persons as it is said, "big names make big
news."
TYPES OF NEWS
According
to Levin (2000), news stories are open into two broad category this are called
hard news and soft news.
- HARD NEWS:- Also
called straight news. That is the factual reporting of news that is current and
important. Readers wants and need to knows hard news as soon as possible.
Stories covering the appointment of new vice-chancellor of Nasarawa State
University, Keffi; Revision of admission require and theft of sports equipment
from the University's sport office are examples of hard news.
- SOFT NEWS:- Soft news
as well as it is called it is usually appeal to be less factual and its less
current and important than hard news. An interview with the student musician,
result of a survey on students favourite authors and the movie review are all
soft news. All media offer soft news.
There
is also human elements or interest view. This is the type that causes an
intense interest and emotional reaction because it touches people in a way that
it can affect any other person positively or negatively. For instance news
about a student being murder by unknown people or student winning one million
naira in a raffle draw, it will be of interest of other students because this
things can also happen to any one of them.
A goods news has the
following qualities: Accurate, Balanced, Truthful, Recent, Exact, Perfect,
Objective, Impartial, Unbiased, Disinclined, Concise, Short, Brief, To the
point, Clear
20 SCHOLARLY PERSPECTIVES OF NEWS
Since news means
different thing to different people base on their different geographical area,
the government, the media house, the nature of the audience, individual point
of view and personal differences. For that, let’s look at the following
definitions of news put forth by different scholars and mass media
practitioners and also access their individual point of view.
PROF. CHARLES COATES
According to Prof.
Charles Coates, news is what interests the reader, the viewer, the reporter,
the editor, the producer, their spouses, and their neighbors. News is what
affects their diet and their lives. In this definition news is something that
has human interest. No matter how beautiful a story is written, if it does not
have human interest it is not news. So news must be something that has the
societal appeal from within the reporter, the media house, his immediate
environment, it audiences and the society at large.
HARCUP
To Harcup (2012:55)
cited in Rabiu (2013) news is a selected version of world events with a focus
on what is new and unusual. Rabiu (2013) in one of his lectures says, from the
process of news gathering to reporting, you will find out that a lot of choices
are made. The reporter in the field after seen a lot of stories, select which
one should be covered, after which the media houses choose which stories should
be published and which should not base on their policies before the society
gets the product of their decisions and which are also new and unusual
happenings in the society.
WILLIAMS S. MAULSBYL
William S. Maulsbyl
said, news is unbiased account of significant facts of a timely happening that
is of interest to the readers of the newspaper that printed the account. In the
definition of mass communication, it is the mass information from the mass
media to the mass audience. So, the definition is saying that whatever that is
put across must be significant and factual which interest not only the target
audiences but as well as the media that produced the information.
SAM ZELMAN
Sam Zelman (1980) of CNN
in his own part says, news is what is important because of its impact on the
society it is what the people want to know and what they want to know.
Naturally, a man is born with curiosity (eagerness of knowing this new) around
him. For that, the definition is saying that for any story to be gathered by
any reporter, he must be conscious that his story should have impact on the
people as well as the media house. Also, for any reader, viewer or listener of
any message must felt the impact of the story on him or her before he or she
reads the story. Also as the says goes,” You do not take panadol for another
man’s headache." So any story that has no impacts whether positive or
negative on the audiences is not news.
CHARLES DANA
Charles Dana, who ran
the New York Sun from 1869-1899, saw news as anything new. He said news is anything
that interest a large part of the community and has never been brought to its
attention before. That is to say any story which has been brought to the notice
and knowledge of the audience is no more news but what the audience have never
heard or seen before is news and it must interests large part of that
community.
KAREEM
To Kareem (1991)
observers that news is what sales on paper to the public. In every production
processes the target is the consumer of that very product. At such, the media
house that produced the stories select stories which they think will be of
interest and benefits to them and the readers. And so it does not matter if the
story is new or has impact on the audience or not cannot be news but what suit
their taste and policies. This is enough to tell us that, whatever that are
presented on newspapers, magazines, radio or television are not the only
significant and interesting stories or events that happens around the world but
what the media present to us as news.
AKINTELEYE
In the word of
Akinteleye (1987), “news is an account of events which is more or less compel
into reporting.” That is to say if any account or an event that is not reported
is not news. For instance, if a reporter covers a story and did not bring it to
be broadcast on radio or television or been published in a newspapers or
magazines that is not news. So, news is what is reported or broadcast on radio,
television or published in a newspaper or magazines.
TONNIE IREDIA
To Iredia (2013) in one
of his lecture said, "Whatever the media report or transmit to the public
is news." This is so as only the media house that decide whether a story
is news or not. For instance, reporters went to the field and covered some
lovely stories and take the stories to the editor. When the editor saw them, he
might decide to kill the stories just because it does not conforms to the house
style or is against the government or the media owner or base on any other
judgments.
MENCHER
According to Mencher
(1984) as cited Sambe (2008) "News is information about a break from the
normal flow of events, an interruption in the expected. To the definition, news
is when those things that used to happen refused to happen or what has never
happen before just happen. For instance the case of ebola, a disease that kills
it patient within a short period of time will be the biggest news.
RICHARD ROTH
Richard Roth, a New York
correspondent for Cable Network News (CNN) said, news can be many things but
news is something we (journalist) think that the general public would find
important. The definition is centered on the importance and significant values
attached to an event that they (journalist) decide to cover because he feel it
impact on the society. Now, the question that arises now is what if the
journalist did not cover the event? Does that mean that the event is not
newsworthy?
NEWS
DEFINITIONS FROM SCHOLARLY POINT OF VIEWS
INTRODUCTION
Over
the years, the definition of News is one of the major issue and challenge in
the field of Mass Communication. Different scholars and practitioners in the
field of Mass Communication came up with different definitions which tried to
explain the concept of News, yet there is still no universal accepted
definition of news. Because, what someone perceived or considered as news might
not be news to another person base on individual differences. And that make
news not to have a universal standard definition. And at such, even a layman on
the street can come up with a definition of the term and still have it right.
In the same vein, Rabiu (2014) said that "what is news today might not be
news tomorrow. And what is news in one geographical area might not be also news
in another geographical area." He later gave an example by saying that
news of hazard in the solid minerals industry will be on the front page of
Newsday Newspaper in Lafia, Nasarawa State (Home of Solid Minerals) but might
not even make the paper in Bayelsa State. Reverse is case or vice versa.
To
Itule and Anderson (2007) "One important thing about news is that it is
always changing." The changes occurs base on what the reporter report as
news. He or she report about event the he or she feels it will interest his or
her audience and the media house. He or she judges the event base on the news
elements or determinants such as proximity (the degree of one’s nearness to the
story), prominence, unusualness, timelines, currency etc.
Shrivastava
(2003) portrayed that "Today there is no agreed definition of news ".
Wholesely and Cambell (1957) also buttress the assertion by saying "All
books have been written in an effort to explain news but there is still no
concept for description of it that satisfies the world of Mass Communication.
To the words of Muhammad Sani Rabiu (2014:294), he said and I quote:
"For the serious newspapers, called broadsheets, which report
soberly and in a matter-of-fact (objectives) way e.g. Thisday, Daily Trust, The
Nation and the Guardian, news is information that helps people solves their
problems intelligently, e.g. routine weather reports, news about accidents,
business etc. But for the tabloids also called the fun press, which inform
entertainingly (through the language of reporting, headlines, casting, themes
selected and lavish photographs) e.g. The Daily Sun (and its sisters; The
Saturday Sun and The Sunday Sun), news is material that is entertaining, that
is amusing and relaxing to read. Tabloid Newspapers believe in the saying
"People do not live by bread alone (ordinary stories), the need an
occasion delicacy (excitement stories) on the success and scandals of
film/music/football stars and other outstanding people in politics, business
etc."
To the
author, even in a diversified medium each still has its own point of view on
the definition and the nature of news.
QUALTIES
OF A GOOD NEWS
Good
writers never stop learning and evolving. You read, listen, borrow and blend to
develop a voice that is comfortable and informative. News writers have evolved
from writers of hard news stories – give me the facts fast and straight – to
using techniques that are more creative. In fact, news reporters would often
“phone in” their stories remotely, so they got to the point immediately in case
the connection was broken. They also focused on the most essential first, using
the inverted pyramid method of containing the who, what, why, when, where and
how at the top of a story to avoid having a typesetter trim important details
at the end of an article.
In
recent years, news writers can be less concerned about having their stories
trimmed, especially in the era of online journalism, where stories can be as
long as necessary. Regardless of story structure or length, professionals
reporters who want a reporter to be interested in their client’s story need to
consider and offer journalists ideas that will resonate. Donald Murray, former
writer and writing coach at the Boston Globe, says there are seven qualities to
a good news story. Professional reporters should understand them before
pitching stories.
1.
Information
You need to have concrete details. When reporters ignore your
pitches, it is often because they lack substance. Think about the facts and
details before you pitch a story.
2.
Significance
Your story pitch may be of utmost important to your client, but
what about media outlet’s readers, listeners or viewers? If you are not
thinking of the audience, it is likely you will strike out.
3.
Focus
A good story is limited and focused. In PR, we often want a
reporter to get all the details. If you give them too much, you will be
disappointed. Remember what your core story idea is and stay focused in your
pitch.
4.
Context
Good news stories offer readers perspective. Again, your story
idea might be of great interest to a company or organization, but you must help
the reader understand the story idea in relation to a larger trend or issue.
5.
Faces
Good stories include characters. Think about who will be the face
of the story you pitch. Often, reporters folks defer to the top brass; this is
not always a great idea. Whomever you put forward – and you should offer up
different sources to enhance your success – should understand and be passionate
about the story.
6.
Form
Good
news stories take shape and give the reader a sense of completion. Again,
professionals can help reporters to generate form by offering a well-rounded
set of facts and sources for a story.
ELEMENTS
OF NEWS
News
elements are what makes a report or story news worthy. Some of the elements are
discus below. Those involved in broadcast news must understand 12 factors that
constitute news value, or newsworthiness.
i.
Timeliness
ii.
Proximity
iii.
Exceptional quality
iv.
Possible future impact
v.
Prominence
vi.
Conflict
vii.
Number of people
involved or affected
viii.
Consequence
ix.
Human interest
x.
Pathos
xi.
Shock value
xii.
Titillation component
·
TIMELINESS: News is what's
new. An afternoon raid on a rock cocaine house may warrant a live ENG. report
during the 6 p.m. news. However, tomorrow, unless there are major new
developments, the same story will probably not be important enough to mention.
This means that timeliness is very relevant in determining news. As the news
have to come when the audience are ready to receive it. Something that has
become public songs cannot attract audience's interest.
·
PROXIMITY: This is the
degree of nearness of a reporter's story and the prospect (target audience).
This implies that the closer the story settings, the more the interest of the
audience capture. E.g. A Nigerian has less attention to any news of Somalia
than the news in Nigeria. Another is, if 15 people are killed in your hometown,
your local TV station will undoubtedly consider it news. But if 15 people are
killed in Manzanillo, Montserrat, Moyobambaor, or some other distant place
you've never heard of, it will probably pass without notice. But there are
exceptions.
·
EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY: One
exception centers on how the people died. If the people in Manzanillo were
killed because of a bus or car accident, this would not be nearly as newsworthy
as if they died from an earthquake or stings from "killer bees,"
feared insects that have now invaded the United States. Exceptional quality
refers to how uncommon an event is. A man getting a job as a music conductor is
not news--unless that man is blind.
·
POSSIBLE FUTURE IMPACT: The
killer bee example illustrates another news element: possible future impact.
The fact that the killer bees are now in the United States and may eventually
be a threat to people watching the news makes the story much more newsworthy. A
mundane burglary of an office in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, was
hardly news until two reporters named Woodward and Bernstein saw the
implications and the possible future impact. Eventually, the story behind this
seemingly common burglary brought down a U.S. President.
·
PROMINENCE: This has to do
with well known people in the society. If your mistress gave birth to a new
born child, it not news but if the wife of Mr. president give birth it is news
worthy. The 15 deaths in Manzanillo might also go by unnoticed by the local
media unless someone prominent was on the bus--possibly a movie star or a
well-known politician. If a U.S. Supreme Court Justice gets married, it's news;
if John Smith, your next-door neighbor, gets married, it probably isn't.
·
CONFLICT: Conflict in
its many forms has long held the interest of observers. The conflict may be
physical or emotional. It can be open, overt conflict, such as a civil uprising
against police authority, or it may be ideological conflict between political
candidates. The conflict could be as simple as a person standing on his
principles and spending a year fighting city hall over a parking citation. In
addition to "people against people" conflict, there can be conflict
with wild animals, nature, the environment, or even the frontier of space.
·
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE INVOLVED OR AFFECTED: The more people involved in a news event, be it a demonstration or
a tragic accident, the more newsworthy the story is. Likewise, the number of
people affected by the event, whether it's a new health threat or a new tax
ruling, the more newsworthy the story is.
·
CONSEQUENCE: The fact that a
car hit a utility pole isn't news, unless, as a consequence, power is lost
throughout a city for several hours. The fact that a computer virus found its
way into a computer system 68 TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516 VU might
not be news until it bankrupts a business, shuts down a telephone system, or
endangers lives by destroying crucial medical data at a hospital.
·
HUMAN INTEREST: Human-interest
stories are generally soft news. Examples would be a baby beauty contest, a
person whose pet happens to be a nine-foot boa constrictor, or a man who makes
a cart so that his two-legged dog can move around again. On a slow news day
even a story of fire fighters getting a cat out of a tree might make a suitable
story. (Or, as shown here, a kid meeting a kid.) Human-interest angles can be
found in most hard news stories. A flood will undoubtedly have many
human-interest angles: a lost child reunited with its parents after two days, a
boy who lost his dog, or families returning to their mud-filled homes.
·
PATHOS: The fact that people
like to hear about the misfortunes of others can't be denied. Seeing or hearing
about such things commonly elicits feelings of pity, sorrow, sympathy, and
compassion. Some call these stories "tear jerkers." Examples are the
child who is now all alone after his parents were killed in a car accident, the
elderly woman who just lost her life savings to a con artist, or the blind man
whose seeing-eye dog was poisoned. This category isn't just limited to people.
How about horses that were found neglected and starving, or the dog that sits
at the curb expectantly waiting for its master to return from work each day,
even though the man was killed in an accident weeks ago.
·
SHOCK VALUE: An explosion in a
factory has less shock value if it was caused by gas leak than if it was caused
by a terrorist. The story of a six year-old boy who shot his mother with a
revolver found in a bedside drawer has more shock (and therefore news) value
than if same woman died of a heart attack. Both shock value and the titillation
factor (below) are well known to the tabloid press. The lure of these two
factors is also related to some stories getting inordinate attention, such as
the sordid details of a politician's or evangelist's affair--which brings us to
the final point.
·
TITILLATION COMPONENT: This
factor primarily involves gender and is commonly featured which some would say
exploited during gender sensitive.
PLACES AND HOW TO FIND
OR SOURCE FOR NEWS
1.
Have curiosity and don't
question why. Don't always wonder why and say there is hope for you.
2.
Get of the office.
Stories will not hide behind the four corners of the room. You need to go out
and look for news.
3.
Listen to what you hear
in club, business centres and in the streets.
4.
Read as many newspaper
and magazines. Also listen to varieties of radio stations and watch a number of
television stations and possibly gain idea for stories.
5.
Go to seminars and
workshops and learn allot from there.
6.
Monitor foreign news,
broadcast and forecast or waves. These will open a space view and widen your
scope of reasoning.
7.
Keep your future file.
This will tutor your memory and stimulate you to think of stories you need to
recover. The editors will value you as an organisation reporter. If you keep
the file on what is coming up.
8.
Consistently keep
contact with your sources i.e. The people who gives you information. Be more
often receive them, the more likely the trust you unless you are an
untrustworthy. In this case, the more they see you the more they mistrust you.
9.
Check foreign embassy
frequently, especially press officers at the embassies. Tried to talk directly
to them.
10.
People who work at
airport are frequently knowledgeable about going and coming of interesting
people. Therefore, have a source who knows the departures and arrival of
people. Be friendly with airline staff.
11.
Spend time in the market
and other place where people gather.
12.
Talk with fellow
journalist, vocationally, you will get a new idea for a story from them.
13.
From time to time,
university professors and administrators are news source. Know their view and
know what is going on.
14.
Swap comments with
politicians, officials. Most of them love to hear what other says about them
and will also give you every bit of information you need to know.
15.
Take time to walk around
your cities or area, look with fresh eyes at what is happening. Driving in a
car will not do this work. Go on foot and experience your community. Don't
isolate yourself.
16.
Remember that editors
love an enterprising or self-starting reporter. They have trouble getting ideas
themselves and will embrace you if you make their work easier.
NEWS SOURCE
As a
reporter develops nose for news you will find stories almost where you chose.
Stories may even find him because someone may give him a tip-information that
leads to a potential story.
Usually,
a reporter can get a stories or ideas from a source. A source provides
reliable, truthful information on a topic. Sources are not just resources of
stories. Once a reporter finds a stories he need to locate sources to give him
enough useful facts to complete his story. If a reporter is writing a story
about the falling standard of education, the sources he can interview include;
the student affected, the teachers who teach, the principal who held in
secondary schools, the director of education, the permanent secretary, the
commissioner of education and even the governor of the state who is suppose to
allocate enough funds to the sector.
TYPES OF NEWS SOURCE
Two
types of news source can be identified namely, primary and secondary source.
- Primary Source
The primary source
offers the best and most reliable information on the topic- information that is
essential to your stories. Usually, a primary source is an expert someone
recognise as a leading authority on the topic or the primary source is the
person with the first found information on the topic e.g. An accident story,
primary sources will be the surviving passenger on the bus who witness the
scene, the driver and the by-standers who were there when it happen. A primary
source may also be an original and official report. For instance, a reporter
writing on the falling standard of education in Nasarawa State University,
Keffi, if he is able to get an official document containing and detailing facts
on the topic then that official report is also a primary source for him. A
reporter should always find at least one primary source on his stories but he
should not stop on none. He should use as many as he needs to tell the story.
- Secondary Source
This type of source
offers a reliable second-hand information on the topic. Different books and
other media are common secondary source especially radio stations. People's comments
are also part of a secondary source. A reporter uses secondary source to expand
his information.
https://business.quickteller.com/link/pay/JAKESPETwdPD
