When sourcing a story it is important for a journalist to be cynical and wary about what their source says. A journalist must question the motives of the source – they could be attempting to mislead the press in order for personal gain, such as a promotion as a result of an alleged 'company scandal'. The 'scandal' easily be proved to be false, and the journalist and his/her employer would be legally responsible for printing defamation.
A journalist must also be wary of trusting User Generated Content, such as podcasting. They could be legitimate sources, but could quite as easily be the ravings of a madman with an axe to grind. The journalist should be careful of attempts to mislead them through hoaxes or attempts from members of the public to get five minutes of fame through their recently discovered Alien Skull.
It is important to be polite and hospitable to a source who could help break a potentially massive story. The “sexing up” of the Iraq story by Andrew Gilligan also tells us that journalists must keep anonymous sources out of the crossfire and that without sources there is often no story – it is important to look after them.
A journalist must also be wary of trusting User Generated Content, such as podcasting. They could be legitimate sources, but could quite as easily be the ravings of a madman with an axe to grind. The journalist should be careful of attempts to mislead them through hoaxes or attempts from members of the public to get five minutes of fame through their recently discovered Alien Skull.
It is important to be polite and hospitable to a source who could help break a potentially massive story. The “sexing up” of the Iraq story by Andrew Gilligan also tells us that journalists must keep anonymous sources out of the crossfire and that without sources there is often no story – it is important to look after them.
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