Primary, Secondary, and Circumstantial Sources in Journalism
Sources
Primary Sources
Are straightforward; they provide first-hand information, either because they are the protagonists of the facts or because they were present at the events.
Secondary Sources
Are those that can give information about something specific to what they learned by means other than starring in or witnessing the facts they know.
For some, this kind of source never occurs by itself in a story because its information comes, in fact, from primary sources. For others, it may provide the first clue to follow a story.
Example: It is more likely to know the outcome of a meeting between two ministers (both can be consulted) than the result of a meeting between the President and one of his ministers. The President is not a primary source.
Permanent Sources
Those that are always there to provide information on particular issues, timely and specific.
Sources are usually considered as permanent entities, institutions, and NGOs, as are sources that specialize in specific issues. The environment, for example, are always able to provide important data to the journalist for his work.
Circumstantial Sources
A source is considered circumstantial, usually people, but also institutions, organizations, and NGOs can become one. They are so named because they provide factual information and specific events or witnessed staged, or because the matter on which a notice relates or any other journalistic work requires specialist intervention of a person or entity with knowledge of the subject.
Example:
Economic indicators vs. specialists who are used to explain the figures.
Investigative Journalism Guidelines
Search
The topics are on the street, or with specialists, or in conversation with taxi drivers. In no way are they on the desktop.Delimitation
With the ‘trigger data’ checked and verified, it is necessary to define the research.
How? It can be chronologically or starting with a specific aspect of the event. If, for example, research is child prostitution, the issue of entry should be limited to a specific region and a time. It can not be about what happens around the world and from the time when Christianity was born.
Feasibility
With the theme defined, the journalist must ask whether the research is actually viable. This helps to ration clarities and manage logistical resources, financial media, and the group of journalists and professionals who will participate in research. From the outset, investigative journalism is an expensive and high-risk profession.Formulation of the Hypothesis
With the theme defined, one must consider a plausible conjecture or supposition to explain and prove the fact to be investigated.
It’s like the question asked by journalists on a daily basis: what is news? This hypothesis must be timely and logical to give body and guide research. “It’s like a puzzle,” except that the formulation can be posed at the beginning and, at some point, be false. The journalist should be willing to fail.
The hypothesis should be discussed among colleagues that make up the team, but it cannot vary continuously as the vane moves with the wind because it creates instability in the work and spreads it.