By Remy Raitt

In her book Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method, author Carole Rich says a good reporter cultivates sources in several ways; in person, with records, and using online resources. She says it’s never too early to start a list of sources, for example, people you may have spoken to as a student reporter might make excellent sources of information for a story later on in your career.

Why source lists matter

Deputy group editor of Rekord Newspapers, Corne van Zyl, says keeping an up-to-date source list is crucial. “Not only does it provide a range of sources to speak to for a story, which ensures that a story is complete with all the necessary comments from all angles, but it is also a source of possible stories, as junior journalists are tasked to phone the list of sources weekly to check for possible stories.” She says this ensures their editorial team stays on top of all the news relevant to their readers, while also keeping relationships with their sources strong.  

A basic how to

Bulelwa Dayimani, a writer at Ndalo Media, says journalists should update their source lists every day. Both her and Van Zyl favour using electronic and hardcopy lists, which saves them time looking for contact details when deadlines are looming.

In her book, Rich commends international news journalist, Mark Potter, for his method of saving source information. She says he cross-indexes his list of sources in three ways; by name, occupation and location. “If he wants to contact an FBI agent he previously interviewed in Detroit, but whose name he may have forgotten, he looks up the agent’s name under ‘FBI’ or ‘Detroit’,” she explains.

When creating a source list it’s important to include as much information as possible. Dayimani says she always includes the person’s full name, title, the institution they work for or where they are from and every possible way of reaching them; cell phone number, landline and email address.

Keep them close

Once you start bulking up your source list it is important to back it up. Both Van Zyl and Dayimani say they hold onto the information for as long as they can, and with a good back-up system, journalists need never lose a single number or address. Email accounts can crash and address books can be lost, therefore it’s important to back up your source lists regularly. Saving them on a secure external drive, or even in several locations and in hard copy format will allow peace of mind, especially when it comes to contact details for sources who aren’t easy to find online.

Keep growing

Another useful tip of Potter’s that Rich shares in her book is “sponsorship”, which is basically a referral system. “He gets someone who knows him to sponsor him, or recommend him to new source, or he introduces himself to a new source by referring to a contact the source might have known,” she explains.

This will consequently grow your pool of sources, which means more variation, views and opinions for future stories.

Using social media platforms to make contact is also an invaluable way of growing your source list. International experts and people on the ground are only a tweet away, just remember to get their direct contact details too, and add them to your source list immediately so that next time you can rather just pick up the phone and call them directly.

Do you keep a source list? How has it helped your journalistic career?