JOU 220: Finding Sources Question

Question: I am a little confused on the sources part.  Should we have all 3 sources listed on our pitch?  Or can we just have 1 source, and 2 that we plan to pursue?  I have a few ideas of what I would like to write about but I’m not exactly sure what all of my sources would be.

Answer: You should have at least three sources (please write numbers in AP style in the class) who have agreed to speak with you. Do not simply list people as I’ll expect you to speak with the folks on your list. Do not use friends or family members. These are not sources. These are friends and family members.

We will cover how to track sources down on Wednesday, but the simple answer will be:

1. what makes a story newsworthy? two of the answers are the impact the story and sources involved. You want to find the people who are MOST directly involved with the story.
   1. We discussed a few ways to do that (how to find sources on company sites and such)
   2. You can use Lexis-Nexis (you can find that on NKU’s site, in librarys, under databases, “L”), find out who has talked about this before, and track them down
   3. You can use press releases to get press contact

Those are three simple ways. We will discuss interviewing techniques on Wednesday as well, but as we discussed in class, the last question you ask every source, every time you speak with them: “Who else should I speak to about that and could you introduce me to them?” That’s still two questions, I know, but that’s okay. You get the gist.