What Constitutes as a Credible Source?

 

Man reading news on iPad with coffee [provided by pexels.com royalty free]

In online journalism, sources are a vital part of almost every story. Crime stories often use quotes from the police or a witness, community stories use members of the community or a councilmember, entertainment stories may use the words of a director or actor. Almost every form of story is enhanced by the usage of sources.

But what is it that makes a source credible?

The best sources will be people close to what you’re reporting on. Whether this is a company representative, people within the community who have been directly affected by something or even people whose loved ones have been tragically victimised by an event. Credible sources will always be the people that know things about the event or idea. They will be the ‘experts’ in a situation.

It wouldn’t make much sense if you interviewed a homeless man about rising petrol prices, or a teenager about a housing crisis.

In online news, whether it’s an article, video, podcast, or livestream, it’s important to get people who can back up their claims, experts in a field, witnesses, or family members. Just like news reporting, online journalism needs sources able to be corroborated.

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