INTRODUCTION

As reporters and anchors become known and respected by their audience, they receive telephone calls, emails, and tweets about a variety of subjects. Some are letters of praise, some are complaints. Also included among those calls and letters are news tips. A number of the most important stories aired on radio and TV stations come from tipsters. Others come from sources cultivated at public agencies and insiders at corporations and other institutions. This chapter discusses how to develop relationships with such sources.

As reporters craft stories, they need to be concerned with two aspects of broadcast reporting: Advancing the story and avoiding the pack. This chapter discusses both of these techniques before illustrating how to create ongoing sources for news stories.

ADVANCING THE STORY

If news were a commodity, it would be a bad investment because it doesn’t last long—it’s perishable. As a result, reporters must keep looking for new angles to update, or advance, the news. In previous decades, news had a shelf life that lasted as long as the time until the next newscast. If a major network only had one evening newscast, the producers knew they had a full 24-hour cycle to update a story.

FIGURE 3.1 Rellas/iStockphoto.com

Obviously, this is not the case today. Around-the-clock news chan nels, ongoing Internet updates, and constant “news ticker” headlines have made the art of advancing stories a never ending fight for the latest morsel of information.

Updating a story—putting a new lead on it—is only part of what is involved in advancing a story. A new lead reporting, for example, that the death toll in an airplane disaster climbs from 100 to 115 does advance the story, but it is a rather routine update. In the more traditional sense, this story could be advanced if, for example, the cause of the crash was determined or it was suddenly discovered that a famous person was on the plane. The story also could be advanced if a reporter learned that this particular type of aircraft had been involved in a series of similar crashes in recent months or if a reporter discovered that the Federal Aviation Administration was about to ground all planes of the same make.

By expanding on the example of the airplane disaster, a reporter could broaden the net of possible interviewees, thus bringing new insight into the story. Is there a local representative of the Civil Air Patrol or a pilot who has logged thousands of flying hours? Such perspective could advance the story by adding information beyond a grim update of those who died.

AVOIDING THE PACK

Good reporters and producers are always looking for stories that no one else has. This means developing contacts, enterprising stories, wading through countless meeting agendas and news releases, as well as keeping a close eye on social media in the community. Robbyn DeSpain, the Assistant News Director at KFVS12 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, says:

Finding informative and relative content is the key to any good newscast. The stories that lead the show and are the most promotable come from reporters who have solid sources and can also enterprise ideas. Once those big stories are assigned at the morning editorial meeting, it’s then up to the producer to find supporting content to fill out the remaining show time. When I first started out in the TV news business, my story hunting resources were much more limited than they are today. They included getting ideas from the newspaper, press releases from the fax machine, occasional emails from public relations promoters, national stories from the network feeds, and of course breaking news from the scanners. These days, I consume the newspaper online and no one really faxes anymore.

Social media and emails are easily the top two ways I find stories. Just about every police department, sports team, or business has a public Facebook page or Twitter account. That’s where they post news, community events, and breaking news. It’s crucial for newsgatherers like producers and reporters to be active online and on social media in order to run a competitive newsroom. When it comes to communication between staffers in a newsroom, email is the most important tool. My inbox sits open on my computer at all times, and that’s how I get press releases from the assignment desk, important notes from news management, and have conversations with reporters and photographers in the field.

The importance of using social media and Internet sources to help develop stories is obvious; the online community expands daily and it instantly connects news makers, news gatherers, and news consumers.

Casting a broad net and seeking out innovative stories helps to avoid the dreaded pack reporting, which comes from covering the same stories that every other reporter has on other news outlets. Instead, developing stories requires that reporters read an extra email, subscribe to an additional social media website, interview another bystander, and stay for just a few more sound bites. Developing solid news sources is the best way to produce exceptional stories; the following pages address how to do just that.

LOCALIZATION

In an ideal news world for local producers, there would always be several dominant stories in the region jockeying for position in the rundown. News from outside the area, such as Washington politics or an Asian civil war, might be bundled into a tidy 40-second wrap-up at the end of A block. But local news, at least in theory, would always lead the news.

Yet that isn’t always the case in daily news coverage. There are many days when the local news simply isn’t that strong. These are “slow news” days when there are no meetings, traffic is smooth, the temperature is mild, and the crime rate is unbelievably low. On these days, what if the national and international wire sources offer the following options?

■ Washington issues a new tax code that hurts small businesses.

■ OPEC announces the price of oil will drop six dollars a barrel.

■ European Union members decide to stop bailing out one of their own countries.

None of these is a local story based solely on its geography, but each of them still has news value. The dilemma is in how to incorporate these far-flung stories into your local newscast with angles that will be compelling to your city’s viewers.

The solution is localization, which involves developing distant news ideas into stories with local impact. For the tax code story, a call to the chamber of commerce or a local tax expert is in order. The OPEC story will impact consumers at the gas pumps, while a political science professor at the nearby university can provide valuable insight into the overseas situation.

Let’s explore some ideas concerning a national agricultural story. For this example, you are in a newsroom in Biloxi, Mississippi. You come across an item on the Food and Drug Administration website, www.fda.gov, that a brand of peanut butter is being recalled due to contamination from listeria monocytogenes.

FAST FACT: The Food and Drug Administration website has a dedicated tab that lists recalls and alerts. More than 100 products are under recall at any given time.

FIGURE 3.2 mikeledray/Shutterstock.com

This story can be produced from a number of different angles. To start with the agriculture angle, you can call the county extension agent who will be an expert in farm issues. If there are peanut farmers in the viewing area, that’s an immediate contact. Is there a local vegan’s group or store that may have an organic peanut butter? Could you advance the story with “The safety issues regarding the peanut crop may make you think twice about eating it, but one local vegan support group says there’s no problem at all”? To develop the agricultural story, simply trace the food trail.

The health angle is obvious: Find a local doctor who can explain listeria monocytogenes. For a business story, a local grocer or farmer’s market can discuss what they’re doing with the product. To expand the story into the government’s role into food safety, you can always make a quick call to a local representative.

TIPS

FIGURE 3.3 Reporters must find a way to localize national news stories. mikeledray/Shutterstock.com

Stations that establish reputations for doing investigative stories are more likely to get tips than others. Astute news directors encourage tipsters, often setting up dedicated telephone lines or web links just for that purpose. Most calls involve breaking news—fires, accidents, crime—but sometimes the caller has information that leads to an investigative story.

Tips are usually the result of stories that were reported earlier by the station. For example, a story about a politician using public funds for a personal trip to Las Vegas may attract calls from viewers who know about similar trips by other politicians. Who makes such calls and why? The calls and letters are often from people who have been working closely with the wrongdoers. They may be annoyed because of the misuse of public funds, because they lost their jobs, because of jealousy, or because of a longstanding grudge. The caller then becomes a source who might provide additional information on other stories or the names of additional sources. The way the phone conversation might go is: “I don’t know all the details, but I can give you the name of someone who can, as long as you don’t reveal my name.” These last four words, “don’t reveal my name,” are key to developing and keeping sources.

FAST FACT: “Submit a News Tip” is now a standard link on websites for television newsrooms. If you search “News Tip” on Google, nearly 33 million results appear.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The fastest way to lose a source is to break a promise of confidentiality. Few sources give reporters sensitive information without a promise of secrecy. Once a reporter gives that promise, it must be respected, regardless of the consequences. A reporter’s right to protect sources has often been tested in the courts and reporters do not always win. On rare occasions, reporters have gone to jail or been fined for refusing to disclose a source.

FIGURE 3.4 Reporters who break a promise of confidentiality risk losing their source. wellphoto/Shutterstock.com

Before entering into such an agreement with a source, reporters must analyze what they are agreeing to keep secret. Reporters disagree, for example, on whether it’s a good idea to offer confidentiality to those who admit that they are actively involved in crime. Some reporters say they agree to such a pact if that’s the only way to break the story. Other reporters say they would never enter into such an agreement and warn those sources that if they disclose any information about criminal behavior on their part, the reporters will not guarantee secrecy.

If a reporter promises to keep a source secret and that promise is broken, it can be costly. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1991 that news organizations may not break promises of confidentiality to news sources.

ACCURACY OF SOURCES

A reporter should never use a source as a basis for a story until the information is checked for accuracy. Verifying a story is not always easy, especially when a reporter is working under deadlines. One of the best ways to ensure that a story is accurate is to find several other sources who will disclose exactly the same information. This is known as double-sourcing or triple-sourcing, which entails asking multiple sources to confirm the facts within a story.

Rolling Stone learned this lesson in 2014 when it published a University of Virginia female student’s account of her alleged gang rape at a UVA fraternity titled “A Rape on Campus.” After faults were found within the story, the magazine asked the Columbia School of Journalism to investigate any lapses in reporting, editing, or fact checking. The single source turned out to be unreliable and the magazine retracted the story. Rolling Stone also published the Columbia School of Journalism’s report verbatim in its April 2015 edition.

FAST FACT: After the story was debunked, the fraternity that was falsely accused sued Rolling Stone for $25 million.

Most station managers have a policy that requires reporters to disclose their sources or documentation to at least one person in authority at the station before they are allowed to broadcast the investigative material. This allows someone who is more removed from the story to give a second, unbiased opinion about the story. Failure to provide such safeguards invites disaster.

GAINING CONFIDENCE

Reporters who find good, reliable sources and prove to them that they will protect their confidentiality usually find that those sources will continue to provide information, sometimes for many years. Self-esteem is often one motive for tipsters, and feeling good about being involved in the breaking of a story encourages them to find new items. Smart reporters tell their sources that they are providing a service to the community. This allows sources to see themselves as part of a team, thus they will actively look for new information to provide to their colleague at the radio or TV station.

Other good information comes from contacts that reporters cultivate in offices where records and documents are housed and, particularly for crime beat reporters, at police desks.

Experienced reporters once suggested that “hanging out” at restaurants, coffeehouses, and bars where politicians and city and county employees gather was a good way to develop new sources. Unfortunately, this strategy is not as effective today. While occasionally bumping into a news contact at a social function is acceptable, too much contact smacks of cronyism, which can ultimately lead to the audience questioning the reporter’s objectivity.

Further, much of the social networking today does not revolve around the neighborhood coffee shop. Instead, a number of reporters follow Facebook or Twitter sites that provide them elementary access to potential news sources. While these may be good for an initial contact, reporters will only gain confidence after repeated contacts, most of which will happen face-to-face.

FIGURE 3.5 Social networks can be a good way to find sources, but face-to-face meetings build confidence. ferrantraite/iStockphoto.com

LEAKS

Information from an unidentified source in the government, political, or corporate world is known as a leak. As with sources who provide tips, insiders, for one reason or another, reveal information of a sensitive nature to the press with the promise of confidentiality. Such insiders could be corporate staff members, assistants to members of a state assembly, or someone in a mayor’s office who wants the media to know something about an individual or about an action that is being planned or debated behind closed doors.

As noted earlier, the information from a leak is not enough to warrant charging onto the air with the story. The information needs to be double-sourced or triple-sourced and then cleared with a superior in the newsroom before the story makes it into the evening news.

TRIAL BALLOONS

A different type of leak is the trial balloon. In this case, the leak has the endorsement of the White House, the mayor, or some other government official or agency. The trial balloon tips off one or more people in the media about some controversial action the department or official is thinking of taking. The purpose of the trial balloon is to measure reaction in advance not only from the people but also from the media, lobbying groups, and others. If the trial balloon is greeted with strong opposition, then the official or agency could quietly forget the action it had contemplated. However, if there is no loud protest, or the planned action is received with enthusiasm, the action probably would proceed as planned.

Trial balloons are often seen during election season. For example, a potential candidate may “float” the idea of running for office just to gauge the feasibility of a campaign. A presidential campaign will mention several names as possible vice-presidential running mates to see whom the public prefers. This happened frequently during the 2016 presidential campaign, when speculation of running mates for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton reached fever pitch. When reporting situations like these, it’s imperative to note that these stories are speculation. If possible, don’t report them at all; there’s no sense in helping politicians spread their trial balloons.

FAST FACT: The term “trial balloons” originated with hot air balloons in the 1780s, when the Montgolfier brothers tied small animals to balloons to ensure safe flight before people were sent airborne.

Name—Mallory Huff

Job Title—Executive Producer

Employer and Website—WGXA–TV, Macon, GA; wgxa.tv

Social Media Outlets I Use—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Typical Daily Duties—I am in the newsroom by 9am every day. I meet with our morning show crew to discuss any breaking news they covered overnight, and how they can advance the story for our evening shows. I then meet with our assignment editor, news director, and MMJs to discuss the daily assignments.

WGXA is a dual station (FOX and ABC), so I work different angles for each story covered by the MMJs. We produce two hour–long newscasts on FOX at 5 and 10pm and half-hour newscasts at 6 and 11pm on ABC. FOX stories are usually harder, trendy, etc., while ABC stories are more family oriented, geared toward safety, money, and health, etc. I then decide which shows will air a package and which shows will air a VOSOT version of that package. We do not like to rerun content at our station, so we like to make sure each of our shows have something different to offer; this way the viewer doesn’t see the same thing more than once on various newscasts.

I make sure all of the MMJs are clear on their assignment for the day before they head out of the newsroom door. I then plan on live shots for the day. I help the corresponding producer time out his/her rundown, manage the stacking of the rundown, write local stories, and monitor the progress of the MMJs in the field.

Breaking news is a guarantee. Once that starts rolling in throughout the day, I begin shifting MMJs to make sure all the bases are covered. I will switch their stories, if need be (in the case that the breaking news is bigger than what is originally planned for the day). Sometimes that breaking news warrants a live shot, so I will plan that and make sure it’s executed properly.

We have an afternoon editorial meeting, which I lead. The whole news team is part of that meeting: All PAs, directors, producers, MMJs, anchors, engineers, etc. In that meeting, I explain the day’s plan (and back–up plans), answer any questions, and go over any “housekeeping” the team needs to know about.

Before the 5:00 show, I test and troubleshoot those live shots, make sure IFBs are dialed in and the shot itself looks clean. What I mean by that is I make sure the shot has been white balanced, focused, mic check is complete, etc.

Aside from the daily duties of being an EP, as far as making sure the shows get on the air, I’m also a manager. I approve timecards for all producers. I host a producer conference call every other week. In that conference call, I get all producers on the same page, answer any questions, clarify any concerns, etc. I also head up special projects like our high school football coverage, our Mercer University sports coverage, and back to school special plans.

I support my news director in her hiring choices. I look at demo reels for MMJs and read resumes. I conduct phone interviews with potential candidates as well. Being an EP means being a point person for just about everyone in the newsroom. It also means being a team player to the highest extent and always making yourself available to your team.

AUTHORITATIVE OR INFORMED SOURCES

When sources of information cannot be substantiated by ordinary means, reporters attribute the information to a spokesperson, or authoritative or informed sources. There are times, for example, when correspondents at the White House, State Department, and Pentagon obtain information from government officials that may only be used with the understanding that the source is not to be named. So reporters who wish to use the information must say, “a spokesman at the Pentagon or a source at the State Department revealed today . . .”

Reporters who do not wish to use such vague attribution would be unable to use the information. Most people in the radio and TV audience take such attributions for granted, assuming that if the reporter is quoting a spokesperson the story is probably true. Often it is, but there’s no guarantee.

BACKGROUND BRIEFINGS

Government officials sometimes give information to reporters but insist that neither the officials nor the agencies they represent be identified. These meetings are called background briefings. If reporters wish to use the information revealed at such briefings, they must attribute it, again, by using phrases such as “official sources” or “well-informed sources.”

It’s important to note that such background briefings do not happen by accident. Instead, they are well planned so the government official can relay information without revealing too much to the reporter. Of course, if the reporter actually names the government official who provided the background briefing, that reporter would never receive another story. Background briefings are one occasion on which the reporter and news source firmly agree on the breadth of the information and the anonymity of the government official.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Finally, as the field crews are advancing stories and tracking down their sources, it is imperative that they stay in touch with the newsroom. The news director and the assignment editor always must know what’s going on “out there.” If, for example, a demonstration is getting out of hand and is turning into a riot, the newsroom must be told. Any changes in stories, even routine ones, should be reported. Nothing irritates an assignment editor more than a crew and reporter who “disappear.”

Reporters must keep the newsroom informed as much as possible about the status of a story. Is it running late? Is it falling apart? Is the video poor? All of these things and more must be shared so that those working on the newscast in the newsroom know what to expect. They also have the right to expect the reporter and crew to return early enough so that the story can be edited and aired on time. The team in the field should decide on a cutoff time, which is when they must pack up their gear and head back for editing.

FIGURE 3.6 P_Wei/iStockphoto.com

SUMMARY

Developing good sources and keeping them confidential constitute the backbone of effective reporting. This chapter focused on the importance of maintaining relationships with sources. Most reporters honor confidentiality agreements, and some have even gone to jail rather than disclose their sources. They knew if they had revealed their sources, they would have lost both their credibility and their effectiveness as journalists.

It is equally important to know whether your sources are reliable. It is essential to check and double-check the information they provide; never use information from only one source as the basis for a story. At the same time, don’t dismiss information without thoroughly checking to see if it could be true.

If you agree to keep information off the record, make sure you do; otherwise it will be the last time that person gives you any information. Also, remember that when you do agree to keep something off the record, start looking for sources you can quote for the record.