Linking to sources

Ethical guidelines
To increase a publications’ transparency, students should clearly show links to sources u
sed in reporting in a consistent process.

Providing links to sources creates a sense of credibility and thoroughness in the reporting process.

Links do not signify endorsement but an attempt to cite as accurately as possible and in context.

Staff manual process
Staffs can use several approaches to show attribution to links
• Hot links from a key word within the story’s text
• URLs embedded in the story
• Source citations for additional information in a sidebar list of links

The key is consistency and providing accurate sourcing for information.

Resources
You Can Quote Me on That: Advice on Attribution for Journalists, Steve Buttry
Why We Link, Scott Karp, editor
The Ethic of the Link Layer on News, Jeff Jarvis
The Ethics of Linking: Jay Rosen , Jay Rosen, YouTube
Reinventing Journalism on the Web: Links as News, Links as Reporting, Scott Karp

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