How to build sources on a beat

Whether you are covering cops, courts or anything else, one key to your reporting success is building rapport with your sources. In an article on the Poynter Institute web site, former Detroit Free Press reporter Jack Kresnak recalls the lessons he learned in his early days on the police beat. Says Kresnak: "Get to know people, treat them like individuals, treat them personably, and then you start getting phone calls from people." Chip Scanlan of Poynter Institute suggests reporters need to nurture sources before they need them. Kresnak, who covered juvenile justice for 20 years, often needed to get people to open up about sensitive, difficult topics. As a reporter, he says, remember your job is to be fair and accurate. Sources need to know you won't exploit them.

If Wikipedia says it's true, check it out

American Journalism Review has an interesting article on whether more journalists are embracing Wikipedia as a legitimate source. Bottomline: Not really. But some are using it as a roadmap or starting point to gather information that they then verify with more legitimate sources before using. We've talked in class - and most J-school professors agree - about not using Wikipedia as a source, at least without further verification. Although I admit that Wikipedia is amazing in many ways, read noted journalist John Seigenthaler's piece on his personal experience with Wikipedia and you'll have a better understanding of why you need to be skeptical. Seigenthaler is a retired journalist and founder of the First Amendment Center. He also was an assistant attorney general and close friend of Bobby Kennedy. If you still have doubts about whether Wikipedia is safe as a main source, see what Stephen Colbert has to say on the subject.