Alliance President and CEO Danielle Coffey stated, “The PRESS Act provides a vital safeguard for the important work of the free press in reporting on matters important to our communities, without fear of government interference or intimidation. The Alliance thanks Representatives Kevin Kiley and Jamie Raskin for their leadership on this bill in the House and we look forward to supporting this important bi-partisan bill advancing in the Senate.”

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The PRESS Act, which unanimously passed the House last Congress, ensures that journalists can perform their work without fear of government overreach by prohibiting government officials from exposing confidential sources or subpoenaing for protected information. The bill allows the free press to continue their important investigative work to shed light on public matters critical to preserving our democracy, while still enabling enforcement officials to obtain the information they need to investigate and prosecute crimes to keep the nation secure.

Danielle Coffey, News/Media Alliance President & CEO, stated, “The News/Media Alliance proudly supports the PRESS Act and commends Senators Wyden, Durbin and Lee, and Representatives Raskin and Kiley for their leadership and commitment to protecting a free and independent press. The PRESS Act will ensure that journalists can maintain editorial independence and protect confidential sources which are a vital part of producing quality news. We encourage Congress to swiftly pass this important bi-partisan legislation.”

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Alliance President and CEO David Chavern stated, “A free and independent press is vital to democracy, and the PRESS Act ensures that journalists maintain editorial independence by protecting their confidential source information. Without these protections, journalists are at risk of government intimidation, losing sources and being unable to produce quality news. The Alliance is proud to support these bi-partisan protections, and we encourage the Senate to follow swiftly so it can be enacted into law.”

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The Alliance looks forward to the Act being signed into law and continues to support legislative efforts to protect journalists from any attempt to thwart the newsgathering process.

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The post Statement: House Judiciary Committee Holds Markup of PRESS Act appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Groundbreaking investigative stories of government corruption and other wrongdoings would remain unknown – both to the public and to Congress – without information gathered from confidential sources by investigative journalists. Actions by the government to learn journalists’ confidential sources undermine the ability of the press, as outlined in the First Amendment, to provide important information to the public about such transgressions.

The legislation introduced now in both the House and Senate would prevent government overreach in obtaining confidential information that would expose anonymous sources and jeopardize the public’s right to know, while at the same time enabling law enforcement officials to get the information they need to investigate and prosecute crimes to keep the nation secure.

Alliance President and CEO, David Chavern, stated, “We must do more to protect journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources used in investigative reporting, which are often crucial to helping to shed light on important public matters critical to preserving our democracy. We are grateful to Representative Raskin for his leadership in introducing this legislation, as well as Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler for calling attention to the problem of prosecutorial overreach when it comes to seeking source information from reporters.”

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So, what’s a girl — I mean journalist — to do?

There are so many more options now for finding new voices to add to stories! From finding experts to locals affected by the news to activists and agitators, it’s never been easier to track down a slew of new names to feature.

SheSource.org

Run by the Women’s Media Center, SheSource helps journalists connect with women who are experts in a multitude of fields. And with women making up less than a quarter of sources quoted by such prominent outlets as The Atlantic, there is room for more female voices. There are more than 1,300 expert sources in the SheSource database. Each woman has demonstrated expertise on her subjects as well as shown that she has some experience working with the media. The database is searchable by area of expertise, and reporters have the option of reaching out to desired sources through the WMC or contacting the source directly. (Editor’s note: I’ve used SheSource numerous times and have always gotten timely, if not immediate responses going through WMC, from both the WMC contact and the sources themselves.) The WMC also sends out a weekly email with a roundup of five to 10 sources who are available to discuss the week’s biggest stories and upcoming news events.

Help A Reporter Out (HARO)

HARO helps connect writers to sources who want to tell their story or share their insights. The resource is free for journalists, but sources can pay to use the service and up their chances of getting media placement through keyword alerts and early access to reporters’ source requests. The site boasts more than 475,000 sources and says it has been used by more than 35,000 journalists and bloggers to connect to sources, so there’s a wide array of opportunities for both parties. (Editor’s note: I’ve never had luck with HARO when I’ve used it, but colleagues have had luck getting PR pitches from product requests through the site.)

Think Tanks

If there’s a subject or region, there’s a think tank that works on the topic. Everyone of course knows about RAND Corp., the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations, but there are hundreds more think tanks across the country and around the world. The University of Pennsylvania library system keeps a list of worldwide think tanks available on its website for anyone to access, and it will give you a good idea of what’s out there and how to reach them. You can browse the list by location, areas of research or special achievements (such as top think tanks established in the past 18 months, or those who have done the best media outreach), or by political party affiliation.

Nonprofits

Like think tanks, there’s a nonprofit for everything. A simple web search will turn up hundreds of options, but you can use charity watchdog sites to find reputable nonprofits related to your topic. Groups like GuideStar, Charity Navigator and Charity Watch, as well as journalism group ProPublica, all rate charities based on their financials and the work they do, and you can use those rankings to find a reputable organization to reach out to for interviews.

Social Media

Everyone crowdsources online these days, but it can actually be helpful if you’re looking for local voices in an area you don’t live in or need to find an expert who may not be part of a think tank or another sourcing tool. Twitter has a reputation for being full of blowhards and Russian trolls, but if you’re willing to poke around the site, you can find sources for stories who you might not otherwise have access to — and who might not otherwise be able to get their voices heard. (Editor’s note: I’ve used Twitter to source a number of stories and have found dozens of sources, both expert and non, over the years. I even landed a few interviews through MySpace back in the day!) Facebook and LinkedIn are also useful in finding new voices to add to your stories. Facebook provides tips on how to use the site to find sources and story ideas using its many features, while LinkedIn is ideal for finding contacts for business-focused stories.

How are you sourcing stories? We’d love to know what resources you use to add new voices to your news! Let us know by emailing jennifer@newsmediaalliance.org or tweeting @EditrixJen. We would also love to hear from you about what other tools or tips or tricks of the trade you’re interested in learning more about in 2018, both on the business and journalism side.

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