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Journalism & Media vocabulary · News Gathering and Sources

Source

Meaning in journalism & media, with examples

/sɔːs/nounCore term

In journalism & media, source means: A person, document or organisation that gives a journalist information for a story; also the place where a piece of information comes from.

In Turkish: kaynak, haber kaynağı

How it is used

Reporters develop, cultivate and protect sources, and editors ask whether a fact is well sourced. Sources can be named, anonymous, official or reliable. News language often says sources close to the company or according to sources.

Example sentences

  1. Two independent sources confirmed that the factory will close in March.

  2. It took her years to build a network of sources inside the health ministry.

  3. Always note the source of every figure you use in the story.

Common collocations

  • reliable source
  • anonymous source
  • protect a source
  • sources close to
  • well-placed source
  • anonymous sourceA person who gives information to a journalist on the condition that their name is not published, usually because they could lose their job or be in danger.
  • source protectionThe principle, recognised in many ethics codes and laws, that journalists should not reveal the identity of confidential sources.
  • tip-offA piece of secret or early information given to a journalist or the police about something that has happened or is going to happen.
  • verifyTo check carefully that information, a photo, a video or a source is real and true before you use or publish it.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: News Gathering and Sources

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