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Sources in Journalism

Sources in Journalism
-Kinds of attributional sources in news journalism

Source in journalism is like a friend to journalists. They can't do without each other. Source is the backbone most media organizations and journalists rely on. Journalists get information through interviews and sources. Before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the New York Times and most media news in the USA rely on anonymous sources for their publication. Source can be, anonymous, user-generated content, social media or inter-personal etc. Sources are the fundamental thing that distinguishes us as a journalist. It is what makes us unique from those who write opinions. Sources are essential to building trust and that's the beauty of journalism. Professional journalists always want to keep themselves away from their story and follow what sources said. Sources can fail most time and that's why it advisable to have a variety of sources. Sources add beauty, information, worth, and above all credibility to a news story. 
The 5 kinds of Attribution for news sources in journalism are as follow: 

-Not for attribution:- This means that journalists can use the information but must not quote or identify the source.

-On the record:- This means that journalists can use the information and also quote or identify the source.

-Background:- This means that a reporter is given the liberty to use pseudo or vague identifiers such as ' a close member of source' this opens the mind of the readers where the information comes from.

-Deep background:- This when there's confidentiality in the information disclosed to a journalist.  In this, the information can neither be used nor can any identity be disclosed. The essence of this is to help the journalist unleashes some other leads.

-Off the record:- This is a situation whereby a journalist can't use the information and can't identify any source.  

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