News sources are the verified individuals, companies and documents that provide the information around which a journalist, website or publication might write a story. It is important that stories are based on good sources not only for moral reasons but to uphold the reputation and authority of the publication in question.
News Source
In journalism, a source is an individual, company, document or more that can provide information to fuel a new story. In order for a story to be considered verified and to maintain a reputation as a news outlet, it is important to have a credible source.
However, very often sources will choose to remain unnamed. This can make it very easy for a publication or a site to claim that it had a reliable source, without being forced to demonstrate any evidence of that fact.
How to Find Good News Sources
Look in the Right Places
News can come from anywhere, but there are some places that are significantly more likely to provide useful and interesting sources. For example, press release sites will provide you with a place to get news from companies, as will newsrooms. It’s also possible to find stories by looking at forums – Reddit users are often credited as sources for news stories today! Research sites and journals can also be highly beneficial – especially if you can find a way to apply new findings to a less-expected niche.
Of course, Wikileaks can also be a good place for new stories!
Read a Lot – And Use Social Networking
If you’re happy to be one of the first to report on a new story rather than the very first, then you should make sure that you keep your eyes peeled to all the other news-sources in your niche. Make sure that you have a list of sites to check every day and that you’re ready to pounce on any new story as soon as it posts.
Even better than that though, is to keep your eyes glued to the social networks such as Twitter – particularly Twitter accounts belonging to celebrities. This way you can get news directly from the horse’s mouth and you’ll have just as much time to publish that story as everyone else. You just need to be ready and vigilant.
Anticipate Stories
If you want to give yourself a bit of an edge, then another technique to use is to try and anticipate those future stories so that you can make sure you’re already there when they come to light. For instance then, you could easily assume that Windows 8.2 is going to come out at some point and so write a ‘place holder’ article on that – a technique that many SEO services use. You don’t have to make up facts – just write a piece using some educated guesses and the little information we do have, and then get ready to beat everyone else to the punch as more details become available. You can even write an article ready for inevitable events, and then just literally press ‘post’ the moment you learn that your predictions have come to fruition.
Find Different Angles
If you are reporting a story from another source, then that doesn’t mean your story has to be old news. What can be just as effective is to merely find an angle on the story that hasn’t been explored yet. This is where you can then start doing some investigation work even – ask yourself questions about the story and then research the answers and chase down leads to come up with something completely unique.
Let Them Come to You
A smart thing for any site or publication to do, is to let people come to them. Spend time getting in touch with the PR team of big companies, network with press offices, run interviews. At the same time, invite readers and users to submit their news to your site.
One of the best places to get news is from a news agency or news organization – which is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to publications to report on.
