The wires: These are the news services provided by news gathering agencies such as the Press Association, Associated Press, and the dozens of local news agencies. Many news organizations rely on the wires for international stories, coverage of court cases and tip-offs on good local stories. They will also check with news agencies if they need a photo of someone in the news.
On the whole the well-known news agencies are very reliable, but if the journalists are not familiar with an agency always try to get another source to back up the story.
Press or news releases: These are publicity handouts or stories given to the media for publication, and dozens of them arrive in news rooms every day. To turn a press release into a piece of proper journalism one need to work harder.
Letters: Letters to the editor often lead to good stories. A letter complaining about local problems, correspondence from a group of children saying a local land owner has suddenly closed the access to the play area where they have always played in could also make a good copy. Before using a letter as the basis of news story one have to get permission from the writer. All the points in the letter should be checked for accuracy and libel.
Surveys: When a journalist receives the results of a survey, there are a few questions they must ask to test whether they can take it seriously and whether it would be ethical to use it as the basis of a news story. If the journalist takes a small enough sample he can make the results sound and significant.
Follow ups: Following up stories they have already covered to note developments, or the lack of them is something journalist does too infrequently.
Anniversaries: An obvious follow-up is the anniversary of some event that has covered by the journalist. A year since the floods which had half the country submerged- how are the people doing could give good stories to the journalists.
The internet: The internet has revolutionized how journalist research stories, since it allows them to find and check facts much more quickly. It has also put them in touches with sources all over the world.
Archives / cutting files: Most news papers have their own cutting library and many now have an online archive that can be searched. A reporter should build up his own files on stories or areas he cover regularly.
Reference texts: Even though, if the journalists use the computer for carrying out research, they should remember that reference books can also be of use for finding the information in quick way. For this purpose some news organizations keep important reference books available.
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