法新社编辑标准与最优操作手册

Twentyprinciplesofsourcing

Withtheamountofdisinformationandrumourscirculatingonlineandonsocialnetworks,AFP’sroleofprovidingaccurateandverifiednewsviaidentifiedandtrustworthysourceshasneverbeenmoreimportant.ThefollowingdocumentexplainsthefundamentalsoftheAgency’srulesonsourcingandhowweshouldmanagerelationshipswithsources.Theseguidelinesshouldberespectedandshouldbeappliedusingprofessionaljudgement,experienceandcommonsense.Thechiefeditor’sdepartmentisavailable24hoursadayforadviceorforafinaldecision.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsabouttheserules,feelthereareomissionsorcomeacrossanysituationsthatraisenewquestions,pleasecontactthechiefeditor’sdepartment.

SUMMARY

1)Thesourceinthelead

2)Identifyingthesource

3)Anonymoussources

4)Artificialintelligence

5)Challengingyoursources

6)Attribution

7)Secondarysources

8)Diversityinsourcing

9)Analysts

10)Quotations

11)Theeditingdeskandsourcing

12)Uploaded/externalcontent

13)Publicdomain

14)Rumoursanddisinformation

15)Protectionofsources

16)Keepingnotesandrecordings

17)Relationshipswithsources

18)Reportingdeaths

19)Conflictreporting

20)BusinessandfinancialReporting

1)THESOURCEINTHELEAD

Thesourceshouldbegivenimmediatelyinflashes,alerts,urgentsandleadssoclientsandreaderscanseewhereAFPobtainedtheinformation.Exceptionsaremadeforeventsthatareclearlyinthepublicdomain(apresidentialspeech,aroyalwedding).Thesourcecanbedroppedfromtheintrosofthemainleadsandwrapswhenthefactshavebeenestablishedbeyonddoubtoruseformulationssuchas"FranceannouncedThursday…”.

Thesourceshouldusuallybeplacedatthecloseofthesentence(aEuropeanCommissionspokespersonsaid.)unlessopeningwiththesourcegivesthestorymoreweight(PresidentXannounced…)ortheinformationcanbecontested(Thearmysaidthatithadcapturedthetownof…).

Socialnetworksareanintegralpartofnewsgathering,andverifiedaccountsareanacceptedsource:Sportsresults,marketreportsandcertaineconomicindicatorsshouldnotbesourced.Headlinesshouldbeconciselysourced,unlesstheeventisinthepublicdomainandthefactsarenotopentodispute.

2)IDENTIFYINGTHESOURCE

Sourcesshouldbeclearlyidentifiedbyname,ageifrelevant,title,occupationandanyotherfactorsthatstrengthenthecredibilityofthestory.

Thesamesourceshouldnotbequotedtwiceinthesamestoryundertwodifferentguises,i.e.identifiedandunidentified,whichwouldmisleadthereaderintothinkingthatthereporterhadspokentotwodifferentpeople.

Donotoverstateasource’simportanceorturnasinglesourceintomultiplesources–“officialssaid”,“officialmediareported”--whereonlyoneofficialoronemediaoutletisquoted.

AnAFPtext,photoorvideojournalistwhowitnessedaneventisarecognizedfirsthandsourceandaddscredibilitytothestory:anAFPreporter/photographer/videojournalistatthescenesaid/witnessed/reported.

3)ANONYMOUSSOURCES

Theuseofanonymoussourcesenablesustopublishinformationthatwewouldotherwisebeunabletoreport.Thisisparticularlythecasewhensourcesareboundtosecrecy(suchasforpoliceorjudicialmatters)andalsoinpublishingsensitiveinformationinallareasofcoverageincludingtheeconomy,diplomacy,politicsandsport.

AFPiscommittedtoprotectingitssourcesandisawareoftherisksthatsomepeoplefacewhenspeakingtothemedia,whichcanjustifygrantinganonymity.

However,wemustalsoassureourclientsofthetransparencyandreliabilityofourinformation,and

bearinmindthatAFPisstakingitsreputationontheveracityofitsinformationwhenitquotesanonymoussources.

Theuseofanonymoussourcesshouldbetheexception,nottherule,andwemustexplaininasmuchdetailaspossiblewhywecannotidentifythesource.Weshoulddescribethesourceaspreciselyaspossible.Forexample,quotinganaidworkerinKabulwhocannotbeidentifiedforsecurityreasons;anegotiatorwhoisnotauthoriseddisclosedetailsofthediscussions;atradeunionofficialwhomayriskreprisalsforspeakingtothemedia.

Reportersmustpresssourcesateveryopportunitytogoontherecordandmustnotslipintothetrapofroutinelygrantinganonymity.Publicfigures,includinggovernmentofficials,andthosearoundthemregularlyhidebehindanonymitywhentheybriefthemediainordertopromotetheiragendas.Weshouldnotallowourselvestobemanipulatedlikethis.

Sourceswhohidebehindanonymityareunaccountableiftheygiveusinaccurateorfalseinformation.Wemustaskourselveswhatthepossiblemotivationbehindaninsistenceonanonymityis.Wemustworktochangethecultureofhabitualanonymitythatexistsincertainareasofourreportingandmustexplaintooursourcesthatidentifyingthemisakeyfactorinestablishingthecredibilityofourcoverage.

Itisessentialthatweknowwhetherthesourcehasdirectaccesstotheinformationorwhetheritwasobtaineditfromathirdparty.

Itisalwayspreferabletoseekatleasttwosources,particularlyiftheyareanonymous.Usingasingleanonymoussourcemaybetheonlywaytoreportimportantinformation.Thisisacceptableifthesourcehasdirectaccesstotheinformationandweareconfidentthatitistrueandthesourceisreliable

Inthiscase,thereportermustdisclosetheidentityofthesourcetotheirserviceheadortheeditor-in-chiefunderastrictguaranteeofconfidentiality.ReportersmustunderstandthatsourcesaretalkingtoAFP,andthatthereisnotaprivateorpersonalrelationshipbetweenthesourceandthejournalist.

Wedonotuseformulationssuchas“reliablesources”or“informedsources”.Instead,westrivetogiveasclearanindicationaspossibleofwhyaparticularsource'sinformationistrustworthy.Weshouldtrytogiveanindicationoftheirfunction,whomtheyrepresent,andthereasonswhytheycannotbeidentifiedbyname(ahighlyplacedforeignministryofficialwhoisnotauthorisedtotalktothemedia,alocalmilitiacommanderwhorequestedanonymityforfearofreprisals).

Ifeyewitnessesrequestanonymityforsecurityorothergenuinereasonsweshouldgiveasclearanindicationaspossibleofwhotheyare(saidthemotherofoneofthevictims,whorequestedanonymity).Eyewitnesssourcessuchas“alocalperson”or“awoman/man”areunacceptable.

Peoplequotedin“voxpop”storiesmustbeidentifiedwiththeirfullname,age,occupation,etc.Theexceptioniswhenthepersonmaybeatpersonalriskiftheyareidentified,buttheiropinionstilladdsvaluetothestory.Inthatcase,youmustexplainwhythepersonrequestedanonymity.

Wedonotusepseudonymstoidentifysourcesunlessitisunavoidableinordertobeabletotellthestory,inwhichcasewemustexplainthereason.

4)ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCEANDSOURCING

GenerativeAItoolssuchasChatGPTandGeminiprovidealgorithmicresponsesbasedonthevastamountsofdatawithwhichtheyhavebeentrained,includingmaterialthatisincomplete,erroneous,biasedorcoveredbycopyrightthathasnotbeenattributed.

Althoughtheyareusefultools,theyshouldnotbeconsideredasreliablesources,andanswerstheyproduceshouldbechecked.Wecanquotetheirresponsestoillustrateastory,buttheyshouldnotbewrittenaboutasiftheyhavehumanqualitiesorquotedlikeahumansourcewithopinions.

Wemustalsobeawarethatthesetoolshaveproducedresultsthatpromotegenderbiasandotherformsofstereotypesandprejudices.

5)CHALLENGINGYOURSOURCES

ItisAFP’sresponsibilitytoensurethatthefactswereportareaccurateandwemustchallengethefactsgivenbyoursources,regardlessoftheirrankorposition.Howdoestheofficialknowthedeathtollorthenumberofsurvivorsorthatthevictimhasdied?Isitanofficialcountorisitanestimate?Wheredidtheofficialobtaintheinformationandfromwhom?Istheinformationwithintheirareaofresponsibilityorexpertise?Ifnot,theymightberepeatinghearsay,reportsfromothermediaorsocialnetworkchatter.Doesthesourcehaveamotiveforgivinguscertaininformation?Itisnotsufficienttosimplyreproducewhatwearetold,andweshouldalwaysaskfollow-upquestionstofindouthowthesourceobtainedtheinformation.Makefact-checkingandcorroborationpartofyourroutine.Wecannothidebehindtheexcusethat“thisiswhatthesourcetoldme,”Wemustseekthetruth.

Eyewitnessaccountsareanessentialpartofreporting,butexercisecautioninquotingthemasprovenfacts,particularlywhenitcomestocasualtyfigures.Weshouldtrytotalktoasmanyeyewitnessesaspossibletobuildupaconsistentversionofevents.

Electionsposeparticularproblems,andweshouldbeverycautiouswhenreportingstatementsbypoliticalcandidates,whoarenotoriousformisrepresentingofficialstatisticsortheiropponents’records.Wecanquotethembutshouldfact-checkwhattheyhavesaidandseekcommentsfromtheirrivalcandidates.

Eveniftheinformationgivenbyasourceoreyewitnessseemscompellingandtrue,seekoutcorroborationorrebuttalfromothersources.Themostconvincingnarrativescansometimesturnouttobehalf-trueorfalse.

6)ATTRIBUTION

Unlessthesourcesaysotherwiseinadvance,everythingthattheysayisunderstoodtobeontherecord(fullyquotableandattributable)andcannotbedeclaredofftherecordafterwards.However,thereportercanusehisorherdiscretionifthesourceclearlymisspokeorhasinadvertentlyputhimself,herselforothersinjeopardy.

Journalistsshoulddotheirbesttoavoidanygroundrulesbeingestablishedinadvance(avoidasking“isthisontherecord?”--wearewithinourrightstoassumethatitis).Ifestablishinggroundrulesisunavoidable,weshouldnegotiateasmuchtransparencyaspossible.Insuchcasestheremustbeunambiguousprioragreementontheterms:thewaythesourceisidentified,whetherthecommentsareontherecord(fullyquotable),offtherecord(nottobeused),orcanbeusedanonymouslyasbackground.

Adistinctionshouldbemadebetweenpublicfiguresandotherpeopleusedtospeakingtothemedia,suchascommunicationsprofessionals,andprivateindividuals.

Theformerknowthattheirwordswillbeusedpublicly,whichisnotthecaseforanordinarymemberofthepublic.Itisourresponsibilitytoexplaintoprivateindividualsthatweworkforaninternationalnewsagencyandtomakeitclearthatwewillbequotingthem.Ifweprovidethemwiththisinformation,theycangivetheirinformedconsenttobequoted.

However,wecanuseourdiscretionanddecidednottoidentifythemifwefeelthattheyarenotawareofthepotentialconsequencesoftheircommentsandmaybeputtingthemselvesatrisk.

Inexceptionalcircumstances,forexampleaspartofaninvestigativereportwhenthepersonmayfacelegalorotherrepercussions,weshouldobtaintheirwrittenconsenttoquotethem.InthiscaseyoushouldcontacttheLegalDepartmentforadvice.

7)SECONDARYSOURCES

WhenwedonothaveanAFPjournalistpresentoradirectsource,wecanusesecondarysources,inwhichcasethoroughverificationoftheveracityoftheinformationisrequired.

Itisuptothebureautojudgethevalueofthesource,andexperienceisagoodguide.Wecanpickupfromrespectedandestablishednewsagencies,televisionnetworks,newspapers,radios,newsagencies,onlinesitesorsocialnetworkaccounts,butshouldexerciseextremecautionwhendealingwithsecondarymedia,unknownwebsitesordubiousorunverifiedsocialmediaaccounts.

Inallcasesitisourresponsibilitytojudgetheveracityandcredibilityoftheinformation,particularlyifthesecondarysourceisquotingunidentifiedsources.Doestheirreportingmatchourstandards?Doesthereportcontainaccusationsthatdemandarightofreply?Areanonymousofficialsusingothermediatospreadaparticularmessage?Aretheyrepeatingarumourorchatterthatisbeingspreadonsocialmedia?Ifwecannotgetanyon-the-recordconfirmation,wecanatleastputthestoryincontextandquoteourownanalysts,whocanevaluatethecredibilityofthereport.

Evenifouragreementwithalocalnewsagencypermitsit,weshouldnotpresenttheirworkasourown,butclearlyidentifythemasthesourceofthestory.

Bewareofsecondarymediareportingoneventsconcerningpersonsotherthantheirownnationalsorinterestsinthirdcountries:forexample,anationalnewsagencyincountryArunningareportonaneventincountryB.Thiskindofinformationshouldnotbepickedupbutsentinnoteformtothechiefeditorforsendingtothebureauconcernedforverification.Ifthebureauisclosed,thenthechiefeditordecideshowtoproceed.

IfAFPquotesasecondaryreport,wegiveitcredibilityanditbecomesourstory,andifitiserroneouswecannotshelterbehindtheexcusethatwewereonlyrepeatingwhatwasbeingsaid.

Wemustsayifwepickedupastoryfromanonlineedition,whosecontentmayvaryfromtheprintedorbroadcastversion.

Wemustalwaysclearlyidentifythesource,e.g.,accordingtoaChineseforeignministryspokesmanquotedbyXinhua.

Ifwepickupquotesfromatelevisionbroadcast,wedescribetheevent(toldreportersinatelevisednewsconference;toldwaitingjournalistsoutsideparliament…)

Ifwepickupanexclusivetelevisioninterview,wesourceitassuch(PrimeMinisterXsaidinaninterviewonAlJazeeraTV.)

Withthechiefeditor’spermission,bureauxcanpickupunreportedmaterialrelevanttotheirownterritoriespostedonlinefromelsewhere(e.g.DelhipickingupastatementfromtheStateDepartmentwebsite).Inthiscasetheotherbureaumustbeinformed.

Wemustsayifanimageorfootagewasprovidedasahandoutandidentifywhoprovidedit.

Wedonotplagiarise-allcontentpickedupfromathirdpartymustbecreditedWemustclearlyidentifyPoolmaterial.

Underfairusage,andwithattribution,wecanusuallyquotefrombooks,magazines,interviewsandotheroriginalmaterialwithinreason.Ifyouareindoubt,consultthechiefeditor'sdepartment.

8)DIVERSITYOFSOURCES

Wemuststrivetohavearepresentativebalanceinoursourcingthatreflectsthegender,racial,ethnicandreligiousdiversityofthesocietieswecover.Numerousstudieshaveshownthatthevoicesquotedinthemediaareoverwhelminglymale,withwomenaccountingforaround25percentofpeoplequoted.Wemuststrivetocorrectthisimbalance.

Weshouldalsoguardagainststereotypesbasedontheperson'sidentity,suchasonlyinterviewingtranspeopleaboutLGBTQrightsissues,oronlyinterviewingwomenaboutissuesaffectingwomen.

9)ANALYSTS

Analystsarevitaltoanyreporter’slistofsourcesandareusedbothtoprovideperspectiveandinsighttonewsreportsandforstand-aloneanalysispieces.

Analystsshouldbeclearlyidentified,alongwiththeorganisationforwhomtheyworkandtheirareaofexpertise.Unlikeanonymoussourceswhocanprovidefactual,verifiableinformation,anonymousanalystslackcredibilityandmustnotbequotedexceptincertainsituationswheretheirexpertiseisvitaltotheunderstandingofthestory(e.g.aviationexpertsinvolvedinthecrashenquiry,whoarelegallyboundtosecrecy.)

Weshouldnotusethegeneric"analystssaid"intheleadbutspecifytheirareaofexpertise,e.g."militaryanalystssaid’.

Wecanuseoneortwoanalystsinanewsreportbutshouldaimforatleastthreeinananalysispiece.Ifyouareusinganalysts,usethemtobringaddedvaluetothestoryandnottostatetheobvious.Amilitialeader’sdeath"reopeningapowerstrugglebetweenrivalfactions"ispreferabletoitbeing"ablowtotheorganisation".

Weareaglobalnewsagencyandshouldseekoutanalystswhoofferdifferentpointsofview,andnotbecontentwithanalystswhofollowaparticularnarrative.Ifyouaredoingananalysispiece,youmustspeaktoasbroadarangeofanalystsaspossibleandthenwriteyourpiece.Donotdecideontheangleandthenfindanalystswhowillprovidequotesthatfityournarrative.

Topromotediversityandreflectreality,wemustspeaktolocalexpertsandnotjustexpertsfrominternationalinstitutionswhomayspeakingeneralterms.Weshouldseekoutsourceswithoriginalideasandspecificexpertise,ratherthanthosewhospeakingingeneraltermsorarefrequentlyquotedinthemedia.Itisalsoimportanttoseektospeaktowomenexperts,whoaregenerallyunder-representedinthemedia.

10)QUOTATIONS

Wemustreportsourcesaccurately,withoutmodifyingwhatwassaid.

Itisnotourresponsibilitytotidyupungrammaticalquotes(withtheexceptionofminorslipsorrepetitions),butneitherisitourjobtounfairlyexposeanindividualtoridicule--althoughitisperfectlylegitimatetoquotepreciselyapublicfigurewhomisspoke.Paraphraseifnecessary.Neverchangethesenseofthequotethroughediting,eitherintextorvideo.Avoidellipses.

Withoutoverburdeningthetext,givecompletequotesasaruleandlimitpartialquotes.

Whenwequotemorethanonesourceinastory,wemustimmediatelychangetheattributiontomakeitcleartoreadersthatthereisanewspeaker.

Forexample,write:Asaid,"xxxxxx".However,Bsaid"yyyyy".

Donotwrite:Asaid,"xxxxxx"."Yyyyy",Bsaid.(whichcouldmakethereaderthinkthesecondquotewasacontinuationofspeakerA'scomments).

Donotusequotationswithoutattribution,includinginheadlinesandleadsentences.Allquotesmustcomewithattribution.

Donotusewhatareknownasscarequotes,whichareusedtocastdoubtontheappropriatenessofaword:Ananalysisshowedthatthe"healthy"snackwasfullofsugar,saltandsaturatedfats.

Insteadwrite:Ananalysisshowedthatthesnack,describedas"healthy"byitsmanufacturer,hadhighlevelsofsugar,saltandsaturatedfats.

11)THEEDITINGDESKANDSOURCING

Iftheeditingdeskhasdoubtsaboutthequalityofasource,believesthatthestorydoesnotstandup,orquestionstheveracityofthecontent,thenithasaresponsibilitytoinformthechiefeditorwhomayputaholdonthestoryandcontacttheauthororthebureauforfurtherverification.

Theeditingdeskshouldneverhardenorotherwisealtertheoriginalsource--"aseniorWhiteHouseofficialsaid,"shouldnotbecome"theWhiteHousesaid".Theonlyexceptionisifatitleisabbreviatedintheintroforthesakeofbrevity.

Atthesametime,brevityshouldnotmeandilutingthesource:"WhiteHousepresssecretaryKarineJean-Pierresaid,"isstrongerthan"aWhiteHousespokespersonsaid".Rememberthatthefirstparagraphisoftenextractedasastand-alonestory.

12)UPLOADEDANDEXTERNALCONTENT

Socialmediaareanintegralpartofthenewsgatheringprocessandhavecreatedaddedresponsibilitiesforjournalists,whomustverifytheircontent.

Itisthejournalist’sresponsibilitytoensurethatallcontent(posts,photos,videos)obtainedfromsocialnetworksisfromagenuineaccount,andinthecaseofimagesorvideo,thatthematerialisauthenticandverified.Wemustconfirmthattheuploaderistheauthorandholdstherights,andthatwehavepermissiontoreproduceit.

Socialmediaareusedascommunicationplatformsbyindividuals,sportsteams,companies,governments,etc.Onceweverifythatanaccountisauthentic,theinformationhasthesamecredibilityasmaterialreceivedfromtrustworthyandverifiedsourcesviaawebsiteetc.

Althoughnewsagenciesarestillexpectedtobreaknews,thefirstsnippetsofinformationoftencirculateonsocialnetworks.Ourroleistoverifythiscontentbeforeusingitinourproduction.Wemustbeespeciallyvigilantaboutthedangersofdeepfakevideoandvoice.Whilewearestillexpectedtobefast,theabsolutepriorityistobeaccurate.

Aswithanyothersource,thejournalistshouldbeawareofanypotentialriskstouploaders,whooftenwillhavehadnopriorexperienceofthemediaandmaybetraumatizedandinpotentialdanger.

Allsourcesinagraphicmustbeclearlycited,andtheoriginandqualityofdatacarefullychecked.Graphicselementsprotectedbycopyright,suchascorporateorotherlogos,mustnotbeused.Ifthegraphicincludescontroversialorcontestedinformationthesourceshouldbeidentified,withanexplanatorynoteifnecessary.

Likewise,whenitcomestodatajournalism,itisthejournalist’sresponsibilitytoverifythatthedatacomesfromagenuinesource,thatithasnotbeenmanipulatedandthatitispresentedinanimpartialandcorrectmanner.

Wecanreportleakedinformationbutwemustbeawareofsecrecylawsthatvaryfromcountrytocountry.Ifindoubt,contactthechief'seditorwhomayseeklegaladvice.

13)PUBLICDOMAIN

Asageneralrule,allofourinformationshouldbesourced,evenifitisinthepublicdomain.Ifthereisanyriskthataclientwillask"howdoesAFPknowthis?",weshouldsourcethestorytoanAFPjournalistatthescene,atleastinthefirstinstancetoshowwearepresent.Atthesametime,wehavetoapplycommonsensetoeventsinthepublicarena(PresidentXwassworninforasecondterm,anAFPreporterwitnessed,wouldbeunnecessary.)

14)RUMOURSANDSOCIALMEDIA

Wedonotreportrumoursandshouldcontactsourcestoconfirmordiscreditthem.

Socialmediaareawashwithrumours,disinformationandhoaxes,whichhavetobecheckedoutifthetopicisofsufficientimportance.

Wemusttakecareinconfirmingrumours-adubiousconfirmationfromaweaksource(whomayhaveheardtherumourthroughotherchannels)plustherumourdoesnotequalastory.

However,wecanreport(withthechiefeditor’sapproval)thatarumourhasprovokedasignificantreaction,whileexplainingitthroughasource:

•TradersatHSBCsaidtheFootsiehadfallenbecauseofrumoursoftheprimeminister'sresignation

•CivilianssaidtheywerefleeingthecitybecausetheyhadheardrumoursthatISISfighterswerewithinstrikingdistance

Ifarumourhastakenonsufficientproportionsandwehaveconfirmationthatitisfalse,thenwecandoastorytothateffect:

•ABuckinghamPalacespokesmandeniedonlinerumoursthattheKinghasbeenhospitalized

Ifajournalistorbureauischeckingoutarumourofanysignificancethechiefeditorshouldbeinformedasaprecaution.Becautiouswhenfollowinguprumourswhenitconcernsfinancialmarketstoavoidaccusationsofspreadingrumours,whichcanhavelegalconsequencesinsomecountries.

Also,ifweseethatapieceofdisinformationorarumourhasgoneviralandcannotbequashedbyrunningasimpledenial,weshouldinformthedigitalverificationteam.Theycanwritetheirownfact-checkandhelpindebunkingthefalsepieceofnews.

15)PROTECTINGANDRESPECTINGSOURCES

Journalistshaveadutytoprotecttheidentityoftheirconfidentialsourcesandfixersandtoavoidputtingthematrisk.Inthiseraofmassdatagatheringandsurveillance,authoritiesandotherinterestedpartiescaneasilytrackareporter’smovementsandelectronicexchanges,andthisshouldbetakenintoaccountwhendealingwithsourcesatrisk.

Inexceptionalcircumstancesitmaybenecessarytomeetasourcewithoutcarryinganelectronicdeviceandreverttonotepadandpen.

ConfidentialsourcesshouldfeelconfidentthattheycantrusttheAFPjournalisttoprotecttheiridentity.

AnAFPreportershouldneverdivulgetheidentityofasourcetoanoutsideparty,andifrequestedtodososhouldinformthechiefeditor.Thelawsregardingtheprotectionofjournalisticsourcesvary

fromcountrytocountry,andreporterscanfaceextremepressurefromthepoliceandotherofficialandunofficialentitiestorevealtheirsources.Ifpoliterefusalsarenotsufficient,thensayyouareforbiddentodosobycompanypolicyandwillcontactyoursuperiorsforadvice.

AFPwilldefendtherightofthereportertowithholdtheidentityofthesourceandwillseeklegalassistanceifnecessary.However,thereportermustinformtheeditor-in-chiefofthesource’sidentity--underastrictguaranteeofconfidentiality--ifrequested.

Protectionofsourcesalsoincludeshowwetreatthem,andweshouldexercisesensitivitywheninterviewingpeoplecaughtupintraumaticevents.Dealingwiththemediacanbeasourceofadditionaldistressformanyindividualsandweshouldtakethatintoaccount.

Exerciseparticularcautionwheninterviewingorphotographingchildrenandinformthechiefeditorifyoudidsowithouttheconsentofaparentorguardian.Makesureyouknowthelegaldefinitionofadulthoodinyourcountryandthelawconcerningmediacoverageofminors.

Socialnetworkshavebecomeessentialtoolsincontactingwitnessestoevents.However,therehavebeenfrequentcaseswhereindividualshavebeeninundatedandharassedbyinformationrequestsfrommediafromaroundtheworld.WhileAFPcannotregulatethebehaviourofothermedia,wemustensurethat1/onlyoneAFPjournalistisdesignatedtocontacttheindividual(witnesseshavecomplainedofmultiplerequestsfromthesamenewsorganisation);2/thatweshowcourtesyandsensitivity,anddonotputthewitnessatpotentialrisk(suchasaskingthemtogatheradditionalmaterial).

Socialnetworksareawayofmaintainingconstantonlinecontactwithsources.However,weshouldbeawarethatsocialnetworkrelationshipscanraisequestionsaboutourimpartiality.

Asanexample,weshouldbecautiouswhenacceptingsocialmediafriendrequestsfromourcontacts.IfyouareobligedtolikeaFacebookpageinordertofollowaparticularpoliticalpartyorcandidate,thenyoushouldalsoliketheiropponents’pageinordertoshowbalance.

16)KEEPINGNOTESANDRECORDINGS

Weshouldrecordinterviewsandpressconferencesandkeepalloriginalrecordingsandcopiesofnotesincaseofdisputeorlitigation.Ifyoutypeoutnotesandquotesonascreen,savethemseparatelyanddonottypeoverthemwhenyouwriteyourstory.

Neverhandoveryourrecordingsornotestoathirdparty,andifrequestedtodosoinformthechiefeditorwhowillseeklegaladviceifnecessary.

Materialpostedonwebsitesorsocialmediacanberemovedfromonesecondtothenext,soallsourcematerialtakenfromonlineandmobilesourcesshouldi