Good Writing Pt. 5: Reporting Facts and finding reliable sources.

In being a reporter or article writer one will always be required to report on facts and this is being done by asking questions and interviewing subjects. It is the duty of reporters or writers to ask questions and conduct interviews in order to report to the general public as no-one else are in a position to do so.

It is a common fact that one of the basic skills of writers and reporters are to collect and to report actual facts of interest to the community. Reporters are required to identify newsworthy information, follow up on it, identify witnesses and communicate that information and facts quickly, effectively and accurately.

Feature article writers or reporters often may be required to conduct further in-depth research into these facts. They often have more time to conduct research and follow up on trustworthy sources. Often these writers are required to follow up on their own reports and articles and release such follow-up writings for publication.

In order to ensure proper reporting on facts, writers are required to employ three techniques which will assist in ensuring that articles and reports are correctly reported. These techniques are:

1. Employing reliable sources
2. Conducting proper interviews
3. Ensuring proper verification of information

Employing reliable sources

Before writing an article or report on any subject, it is expected that the writer has conducted research into the topic. This is very important in deciding upon a source. This will assist the writer in asking the correct questions in an attempt to get the correct answers. It is important that the source provides the correct information on the topic that is reported on.

It may be an additional bonus to you as writer if your source is an acknowledged figure in the topic you are writing about. This will lend absolute credence to the facts you are writing about.

Conducting proper interviews

As mentioned earlier, it is important that you conduct research into the topic you plan to write about. As a writer, you need to be in a position to ensure that you cover all angles appropriate to the article you are writing. You need to know what questions you intend to ask to interviewees. If you do not ask the right questions or for this matter sufficient questions, you may be leaving loopholes in your article, which will directly influence the credibility of your article.

Always ensure that you approach the correct and relevant sources when gathering facts. Refrain from adding irrelevant information and facts to your article.

Always ask too many questions, rather than not enough. Take proper notes of the interview and this will enable you to compile accurate and sufficient summaries of facts relevant to your article.

Ensuring proper verification of information

One should never rely only on the facts provided by a source. All facts gathered through an investigation should be substantiated and verified. As a writer you should always ensure that you have more than one source you can approach on any fact. Additional sources should always be approached to verify certain facts you have gathered.

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