Recording sources during interviews
Ethical guidelines
It may be legal in some states to record sources during an interview without their permission, but ethically, journalists always should ask permission to record an interview.
Staff manual process
Members of the editorial board should develop a procedure for recording sources.
Suggestions
Statements may include the following guidelines:
• Always ask a source before the interview begins if it may be recorded.
• Keep audio recorders in clear view.
• Test equipment prior to the interview.
• Bring extra power sources.
• Treat digital recordings in the same manner as digital notes. In other words, students can play back a quote for verification but should avoid turning over the entire record or story for review prior to publication.
• Keep the audio/video file for at least one year.
• Establish a plan for how reporters will respond when sources want to go off the record.
Resources
Reporter’s Recording Guide, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Think Before You Record, The Poynter Institute
Audio: Asking Tough Questions, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
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Read MoreAllowing sources to preview content before publication
Ethical guidelines
Sources do not have the right to review materials prior to publication. Allowing sources to preview content at any stage of production raises serious ethical and journalistic practice questions.
Staff manual process
Student editors should develop a position on prior review requests and ensure all staff understand the process for addressing such a request. In addition, students should practice transparency throughout the editorial process.
Suggestions
• Students should build trust in the reporting process by demonstrating integrity in their information-gathering process.
• Students may opt to verify quotes by reading them back to sources. If sources indicate quotes are inaccurate, students should check their notes and act accordingly. This should not include changing the original quotes because sources want to revise their statements.
• Sources should not see others’ quotes or information.
Resources
Show And Print, American Journalism Review
The Essentials of Sourcing, Reuters
Writing and Reporting the News, Carole Rich
Sharing Stories With Sources Before Publication Is Risky, But Can Improve Accuracy, Steve Buttry
Lesson: Crafting the Argument, Journalism Education Association
Lesson: A Lesson on the Rules of Prior Approval of Quotes, Content, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee
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Read MoreEmail and texting: digital information-gathering
Ethical guidelines
Journalists should conduct interviews and gather information in person as often as possible.
Because it is sometimes necessary to use electronic methods such as email and text messaging, students should make clear their identity and intentions openly and professionally before using these methods.
Staff manual process
Students should understand that face-to-face interviews offer the best opportunity to have conversations with sources and ask questions as part of the information-gathering process.
Only when an in-person interview or phone conversation is not possible should reporters rely on electronic communications. Editors should devise a policy with clear expectations for email and text message use in reporting. This may include drawing distinctions between personal and media staff email addresses.
Suggestions
• When using email or text messages to communicate for journalistic purposes, students should identify themselves by name and media staff. It’s important to make clear the nature of the communication and indicate the purpose of the questions or conversation underway.
• Given the multitude of email programs available and the ease of creating a new or fictitious account, students should establish a process by which they can verify a sender’s identity. Just because an email address says a person’s name does not mean that person sent the message. Similarly, sources may leave email accounts open and cell phones unattended; it’s possible that a different user responded to questions or posed as someone else by using his or her account.
• Students should have a policy in place to determine when to use electronic communications provided by a third party, which may include considering the method by which content was obtained as well as the nature of the content.
• Students should make every effort to ensure material is not taken out of context or cut in a way that changes its meaning.
Resources
Lesson: With Freedom of the Press Comes Great Responsibility, Journalism Education Association
Email Interview Advice, The Poynter Institute
The Email Interview Debate, American Journalism Review
USF’s The Oracle bands email interviews, following other student newspapers, The Poynter Institute
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Read MoreVerification
Ethical guidelines
Journalists should approach their reporting and interviewing with a healthy dose of skepticism. This doesn’t mean they should trust no one, but it means they should be aware of potential conflicts of interest or barriers to receiving accurate information. Reporters should always verify, even if the information seems incredibly obvious and simplistic. Verifying information is much like fact-checking. Students should seek multiple forms of evidence to confirm information.
Staff manual process
Student journalists should be trained to ask one very specific question during every interview: “How do you know?” This particular question can help reporters analyze whether a source really is in a position to know the information in question. Reporter checklists or training materials should address this step.
Many ways exist to verify and corroborate information. Corroboration requires journalists to ask multiple sources the same question to determine whether the answer is the same across all sources. If the answer varies, journalists should seek additional information and evidence. The staff manual should outline this process.
Students may want to read quotes back to a source for verification, especially when a story deals with specialized knowledge or sensitive material. However, some sources may want to read the entire story, but this gives up editorial control and can put the writer in a difficult position. The staff manual should cover what is expected of reporters in this situation.
Suggestions
• Editors should establish multiple deadlines for stories in order to track progress. This helps cut down on the last-minute rush before publication when reporters run out of time to verify.
• Training and staff resources should make sure all reporters know what to say if a source – particularly a school administrator and someone who might be intimidating – asks to read a complete story prior to publication.
• While it may be unrealistic to require a set number of sources for each story, the staff manual should explain the need for multiple sources in order to get all the facts.
• The staff manual should emphasize the importance of asking for exact spelling of names, places and organizations to make sure these details are accurate, even if the name seems fairly common.
• The student media staff should implement a system to keep track of sources who have provided misinformation and either stop using those sources or take extra measures to verify the information they provide.
• Students should always consider what documents or evidence can be used to corroborate source information.
Resources
Journalism As a Discipline of Verification, American Press Institute
How Do Journalists Verify?, The Poynter Institute
Lesson: Fact Checking in the Digital Age, Journalism Education Association
Lesson: How the Pros Fact Check, Journalism Education Association
Verify Information, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
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Read MoreUnnamed sources
Ethical guidelines
Journalism is based on truth and accuracy. Using unnamed sources risks both of those standards. For that reason, students should seek sources willing to speak on the record. Unnamed sources should be used sparingly and only after students evaluate how the need for the information balances with the problems such sources create.
Occasionally, a source’s physical or mental health may be jeopardized by information on the record. In this instance, journalists should take every precaution to minimize harm to the source.
Staff manual process
Editors should train staff members on how to conduct proper interviews on the record. Poor interview techniques could lead to confusion between potential sources and reporters. Staff members should always identify themselves when working on behalf of student media. Reporters should be advised to use anonymous sources rarely.
Before agreeing to do so, they should ask the following questions:
• Why does the source want to remain unnamed? Is it possible he/she would be in danger if his/her name is revealed? What other problems could occur?
• How important is the story? How important is the information provided, and is there an alternative means for gathering it? Using an unnamed source hurts credibility and could risk legal action.
• Students should consider what might happen if a court demands to know the source’s name. Most professional journalists would not reveal the name, and many have gone to jail instead of doing so. Would student reporters be willing to go that far? What legal protections exist in your state for protection of sources?
• What might the source have to gain from getting this information published? Some sources who want to be off the record have ulterior motives that could harm someone else.
• If students decide the information is vital and the source has a solid reason for remaining unnamed, who, besides the reporter, should know the identity? Many staffs decide the editor should know to assess the credibility of the source, but not the adviser in order to protect the adviser’s professional position at the school.
Resources
Legal Protections For Journalists’ Sources And Information, Student Press Law Center
Position Paper on Anonymity of Sources, Society of Professional Journalists
Use of Unnamed Sources, National Public Radio
Lesson: Exploring the Issues with Anonymous Sources, Journalism Education Association
Unnamed Sources, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute
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Read MoreTreatment of minors
Ethical guidelines
All sources deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, but there are special legal and ethical situations that apply to minors. In general, minors are anyone under the state’s legal age of adulthood, usually 18. This poses some special concerns because often a student who is a senior may no longer be a minor but is still in a setting (school) considered protective of minors.
Student media should be aware of their state laws regarding publishing information about minors without parental consent, including photos and names. Student journalists should always remember their mandate to “minimize harm” when dealing with the subjects of stories while recognizing their obligation to report the truth.
Staff manual process
All relevant state laws and district policies should be kept on hand in the student newsroom. If a minor is involved in a crime, the police report is the guide. In most cases, if a police report provides the name of a victim or perpetrator, those names may be legally used in the press.
However, that doesn’t mean that this choice is ethically sound. Publishing the names of victims of a crime may be traumatizing and cause unwanted ostracizing or attention. While some administrators say student media – especially online versions – cannot use full names, this may not be a legal issue. Check to be sure.
Suggestions
• Be sure to ask sources for their age during each interview.
• covering sensitive topics that involve minors, it is sometimes advisable to connect with that student’s parents to inform them of the news coverage. (This is not only ethical but might provide additional information.)
• When in doubt about whether a minor respects the potential gravity associated with being named in or interviewed for a certain story, asking the student to sign a permission slip can help to highlight the seriousness of the issue.
• When in doubt about whether a minor understands the potential risks associated with being named in or interviewed for a certain story, asking the student’s parent to sign a permission slip gives the publication permission to use his or her child’s name.
• Seek legal advice from the Student Press Law Center or other legal experts when questions arise about invasions of privacy.
• Is potential harm to a minor because of a story worth the risk? Some stories will be so important they justify the risk. Others are not likely to be worth it.
Resources
Naming Names: Identifying Minors, Student Press Law Center
Interviewing Children, Guidelines for Journalists, Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
Best Practices for Covering Children And Teens Younger Than 18, Associated Press
From the Hotline, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Guidelines for Interviewing Juveniles, Radio Television Digital News Association
Guidelines for Interviewing Juveniles, The Poynter Institute
How the Tampa Bay Times Reported on a Transgender Kid’s Prom Bid, The Poynter Institute
Lesson: Reading, Writing and Discussing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Journalism Education Association
Lesson: SPLC Media Law Presentation: Freedom of Information, Journalism Education Association
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