Primary sources are the direct creators of news (people, organizations, documents, environment).

Secondary sources are recycled information from primary sources; they are less reliable and important.

Reference and information systems: Internet, libraries, directories, encyclopedias, catalogs, databases, etc. Barriers: need to know how to use, danger of getting fake information, substitution of primary information, possibility of plagiarism.

Own sources: informants, experts. These are professional circle, friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. (if possible, do not use the latter). Personal communicative environment. Surrounding environment. Internet environment: websites of news agencies and other media, information portals, reference systems, websites of professional and public organizations, personal user accounts, social networks, press releases, press conferences, briefings.

Pseudo-sources. These are promoters (beware of information coming from interested persons), offended (do not trust information coming from offended persons), leaking information.

Confidentiality of information. A journalist should not reveal his or her sources if the information is passed on a non-disclosure or confidentiality basis. This rule is protected by the laws of almost all countries.

Conflict of law and ethics. The code of ethics on the issue of confidentiality puts the moral shop rule above the law: “The journalist abides by the laws of his country, but in the discharge of his professional duties he recognizes the jurisdiction of his colleagues only, rejecting every attempt at pressure and interference by the government or anyone else.”

Reference to the source. This is an indicator of the reliability of the information. The website www.speakupspeakout.internews.org, which monitors violations of journalists’ rights, reminds us of a few recommendations regarding news searches.

  1. Start with the filing of your local newspaper;
  2. do the same with a competitor’s copy of your publication;
  3. look through advertisements and private classifieds;
  4. a rare day goes by without a memorable date or holiday, so you can find something that is sure to interest your audience;
  5. use a day planner more often to plan your work;
  6. don’t bypass fences with graffiti and posters;
  7. listen to traffic conversations and “kitchen” radio;
  8. be aware of the categories of people who gather news: cab drivers, public transport controllers, vendors, market-goers, vendors;
  9. there are “seasonal” and routine topics. They are always of interest to people;
  10. analyze how an event on a global scale can backfire on the people of your city or region;
  11. regularly call informants from different walks of life;
  12. read official documents;
  13. attend press conferences. Do not throw away press releases, reference materials without reading them;
  14. do not spare business cards;
  15. End each conversation with the question, “What else is going on?”

The development of new media is significant in its effect – the transformation of communication between the media and the audience. The American media researcher W. Crosby in his work “What is New Media?” distinguished three types of communications: interpersonal media – the “one-to-one” type, mass media – the “one-to-many” type, and finally, the “new media” – the “many-to-many” type.

At the center of the new information space is the consumer, who is now not just an observer, but also a participant in the process of news formation. Therefore, the essence of the new information environment is composed not only of multimedia, but also of interactivity, which forces us to radically reconsider the outdated media model and create a new one that corresponds to the goals and objectives of the network society. The modern person himself chooses how to receive information more conveniently. This has led some researchers to say that the media is being replaced by SII, the medium of individual information. Editorial materials increasingly coexist with user-generated messages. An example of this is the Facebook Friendly page.

Journalists have turned the process to their own advantage and have begun to use social media to promote their products. But it turned out that they cannot control the process: In the new information space, every message propagates non-linearly because there is no single center of coordination. The role of journalists here is very special – they become “contactors,” realizing their abilities in a very different way. An example is the Huffington Post, an American online media company with 186 full-time employees and about 6,000 unpaid bloggers. The HuffPost has forced traditional media to rethink the established rules of journalism for creating and distributing content.

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By Peacock Sonya
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