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Making News Personal Finding Documents Documents are not a necessary component of all social-issues reporting. But they can add depth and authority to your stories, especially when combined with personal tales from those affected by the situation or issue at hand. And they can be used not just in large-scale investigative pieces but also with stories in other formats as well. Different countries, of course, have different policies and laws on government and corporate papers and information. And even when the law requires public disclosure of certain documents, that doesn’t mean that officials willingly make them available, especially if no effective legal mechanisms force their release. Confidential informants are often the best sources for obtaining files and documents that expose some official wrongdoing or deception. It is critical, however, to verify that documents are authentic before basing your material on them. It is also important to determine whether you are within your legal rights to have them and, further, to disseminate them. Here are some suggestions about what kinds of documents might be available and how you might use them: • Government materials can be among the hardest to obtain. But in newly emerging democracies, as in developed countries, official agencies often produce reports, studies and other documents available for scrutiny. Even if these documents portray a false reality or feature excessively optimistic data, you may be able to prove that the claims in them are misleading by citing studies or statistics from NGOs and other sources. • Not all documents are hidden away and accessible only through leaks. A country’s constitution, for example, is a public document, and it may guarantee certain rights in the area covered by your beat. Legislation before elected bodies, either national or local, is also generally public, but few reporters take the time to read such documents closely. Comparing what the law requires against the reality can make a very effective story. • The health ministry may conduct evaluations of hospitals and clinics. The environmental ministry may examine how effectively businesses clean up their wastes. Get to know the people in the public agencies that deal with your subject area. Find someone who can explain how things work and what documents are created in the course of the institution’s regular functioning. That will help you decide what materials might help your reporting. • Private companies are springing up even in the most closed societies. And private companies all produce reams of documents on their operations. Many will be confidential, of course, but depending upon your country’s laws on corporate governance, companies may be required to disclose some of this material. Find out exactly what you have the right to see—and then ask for it. International Center for Journalists
Finding Documents • Consulting with a lawyer, especially one familiar with media law, is often an important part of the process. First, you want to protect yourself by making sure that it is not illegal for you to obtain and disseminate information from certain documents. Second, you want to know what your rights are to see certain documents so you can feel comfortable demanding them. • Don’t ignore personal documents that people can give you themselves. If you’re writing about someone with AIDS, perhaps they can give you a copy of their medical records. If someone has filed a lawsuit, they or their attorney may be able to provide you a copy, as well as supporting documentation. If you’re writing about juvenile crime, a parent might give you their child’s court documents or an NGO may be able to help you access police statistics. • If you’re writing a profile, quoting from letters, diaries and other kinds of personal papers can help the story come alive. Such documents enrich and humanize a person’s tale and can help authenticate what you have been told. And don’t forget about birth, marriage and death certificates to verify dates, relationships and other facts. • Depending upon the story, there might also be a use for such simple items as phone bills, receipts for purchases made or services used, restaurant menus, insurance records and bank account statements. Creative reporters have found ways to take advantage of all these documents, although their relevance to the story must always be definitively established. • NGOs can be an excellent source for documents, either from within your country or outside. They can also help with advice on what else might be available and how you can get it. In addition, many organizations produce documents— reports, analyses, critiques—that can be useful. • If you use documents or quote from them, be sure to describe them fully and accurately. That’s the only way readers or viewers can judge the information for themselves. If you obtained them through a confidential source, you can keep the person’s identity a secret. But if the person has a vested interest in having the information made public, you should inform your audience of the motivation for the disclosure. • Even if you have difficulty obtaining local documents, you might be able to find relevant material from international NGOs. They produce reports and analyses, and some may relate to the situation in your country or community. Local NGOs can lead you to affiliated international groups. • The Internet is becoming an greater resource for documents. In many countries, much information formerly included only in printed reports is now available online. Even if this is not true where you live, you may be able to obtain documents elsewhere and use those if they shed light on situations at home. The Web sites of international organizations like the United Nations, the World Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development, for example, contain a wealth of information on every country in the world. 38
Page 1 and 2: Making News Personal Covering Human
Page 3 and 4: Contents 1 Preface 4 Introduction 6
Page 5 and 6: Preface Why are our schools turning
Page 7 and 8: Introduction Introduction Don’t P
Page 9 and 10: Getting Started Getting Started Whe
Page 11 and 12: Getting Started some of the key iss
Page 13 and 14: On the Beat On the beat A social is
Page 15 and 16: Cultivating Sources Cultivating Sou
Page 17 and 18: Cultivating Sources • Maintain th
Page 19 and 20: Exercise Exercise You are pursuing
Page 21 and 22: Developing Story Ideas Developing S
Page 23 and 24: Story Ideas: Going Beneath the Surf
Page 25 and 26: Story Ideas: Going Beneath the Surf
Page 27 and 28: Avoiding Stereotypes Avoiding Stere
Page 29 and 30: Avoiding Stereotypes Part of recogn
Page 31 and 32: Case Study: Roma War in Szentpal Th
Page 33 and 34: Conducting Interviews Conducting In
Page 35 and 36: Conducting Interviews most, so it i
Page 37 and 38: Asking the Questions Asking the Que
Page 39 and 40: Choosing a Format for the Story app
Page 41: Case Study After school, Hester’s
Page 45 and 46: Finding Documents Online UNESCO Ins
Page 47 and 48: Using Statistics which level it dec
Page 49 and 50: Moving Beyond Words Moving Beyond W
Page 51 and 52: Moving Beyond Words static and bori
Page 53 and 54: Following Up Following Up Once you
Page 55 and 56: Conclusion Conclusion Social issues

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