It’s always an exciting journey for people who take on journalism as a profession. You are excited about reporting to work early, keeping your ears and eyes open for news all over the world. You’re just eager to be the first one to break the news. You just can’t wait to exercise each and everything your lectures taught you, I mean those values of loyalty, transparency, interviewing sources and seeking out multiple witnesses, not to forget being a watchdog. Considering the public expects a journalist to be true and factual, in cases where they make mistakes, their trust and credibility is lost. Which is why it’s important to make sure that all information collected is factual, and figures and percentages are just perfect, any slight mistake in figures leaves the public questioning the writer and the media house’s professionalism. Journalists who don’t record sources stand chances of risking their reputability. On what ground do you stand to prove that the source offered you such information when you lack proof? Every journalist must make sure that they record their sources in case you have to defend yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you are noting the interview down, as written content isn’t enough. Writing and recording is necessary at the same time because in case a recorder switches off for whatever reason, you don’t lose the information since you jotted it down. I recall a friend way back at the university who got a chance to interview a certain minister; he was excited for the opportunity. He prepared his recorder, and offered a microphone to the interviewee, the interview started. Unfortunately, due to panic, he didn’t test whether the recorder was recording, and he didn’t note anything down, only to finish an interview with nothing on record. What would you do if you were given a chance to interview the president and your media house is ready to run the big story, but sadly, your recorder lets you down? It’s very embarrassing and unprofessional. One of the things that make journalism boring is disappointments from sources. Imagine working on a deadline and a source assures you that they will get back to you in 30 minutes, you sit tight and enjoy your coffee and you think it’s a done deal. Well, 30 minutes turn to five hours and 10 hours, when you try reaching them, their numbers are off and you can’t give your editors such an excuse. But what to do anyway? Submitting stories in time requires reaching out to more sources so that when one or two disappoint you, at least the third one can respond. Working at the last minute is also stressful and there is a possibility of making mistakes in grammar, spelling people’s names and titles and poor sentence constructions. Once one gets a story idea, it’s necessary to carry out some research and reach out to people who would best give the necessary information about a subject. Having enough time allows a writer to even ask follow up questions, and thus compiling a rich well researched story. Taking people’s photos without consent is unethical; someone accepting to be interviewed doesn’t mean using their photos. There is no harm in requesting for permission to take their photos and explain to them where such photos will be used. Consenting to it, will require sources to sign. Some journalists have encountered situations where sources are not comfortable with their photos appearing in a newspaper or website. This is why it’s necessary after the interview to ask your source if some information they have given you is off record. You don’t want to be the journalist known for making common mistakes, as you will lose trust from the editors and the public. A lot goes into making a profession in journalism work. However, as long as you get the basics and work with passion, you can make a successful career out of it.
