SOURCING:
No reader should have to ask how does the reporter know this … who took the pictures … or compiled the information. Here’s a thumbnail guide to sourcing.
Sources: Always try and get his/her full name and title. Remember, in use the full legal name of any company/institution/affiliation in the first instance.
If he/she won’t give a full name, say so. For example, “… a neighbour who would give her name only as Mrs Wong said …”
Put the source in context so the reader can judge his/her veracity …. thus “an office worker at xyz company who was laid off is likely to have a different set of information than, say, the company’s legal counsel ….
“Sources said” is not acceptable. Again, put it in context … “a company executive” or “a passer-by who saw the crash”
