News reporting techniques for finding vital, credible sources for blog posts on pet-related topics.

1. The Pet Beat: Foundations of
Reporting for Pet Bloggers
Robin Bisha, Ph.D.
Texas Lutheran University
CheshireLovesKarma.com

2. Should you share that story?

3. Have all your facts straight
before you publish a story.

4. There are at least two sides to
every story.
• Know all the sides.
• Acknowledge various views, even when
you are writing strongly in favor of one.

5. Sources make the difference
between good reporting and
passing on a rumor.
• Every story must have more than one
source.
• Never write based on a single,
anonymous source. I don’t care how
thrilling the story is.
• Corroborate stories, especially if they
are given to you by unidentifiable
sources, with at least two other sources.

6. How should you use
information you picked up
from news or social media?

7. If one source isn’t enough,
one news story is even less
than not enough.
• Check the story for yourself, even if you
saw it in a highly reputable newspaper,
magazine, website or program.
• Read a number of news reports.
• Add additional, original reporting that
enhances the story
• Localize

8. Every story should answer
ALL of these questions:
• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• How?
• Why?

10. Any exceptions to this rule?
• BREAKING NEWS
–Happens unexpectedly
–Is important or interesting enough to
tell the world about it NOW.
–We may know the what, when and
where only, possibly who.
–How? Why? And fact checking must
come later.

12. Where do you find sources?
• Newsmakers
• Spokespeople
• Experts
• The Web
• Official records
• Reference works
• Libraries!
• Ordinary people

13. How do you decide a website
is a reliable source?
• Identity of author and credentials
• Affiliated with a reputable organization
• Contact information is provided
• Cites/links to sources
• Date of last update
• Active links
• Professional quality

14. Check for urban legends and
other inaccuracies.
http://snopes.com/
http://www.thatsnonsense.com/index.php

15. How do you decide a human
source is reliable?
• Find out how the person acquired the
knowledge.
• Consider how well this person’s
information held up in the past.
• Think about the source’s possible
biases or self-interest.
• Check information against other
sources.

16. Who are credible or
authoritative sources on:
• Companion
animal health?
• Dog behavior?
• Cat behavior?
• Small pet
behavior?
• Bird behavior?
• Dog fighting?
• Animal cruelty?
• Dog and cat
overpopulation?
• Dog racing?
• Therapy animals?
• Companion
animal food?

17. How do you get sources to
talk to you?
• Contact the source to request an
interview.
• Briefly state the topic and estimate the
amount of time.
• Learn as much as you can about the
source and the topic.
• Prepare a set of open-ended questions
before the interview.

18. How do you conduct an
interview?
• Arrive a little early.
• Have devices to record and take notes.
• Ask source permission to record.
• Take notes as well.
• Accurately note the spelling of name
and title.
• Start with the prepared questions. Ask
follow-up questions too.

19. The final two questions in
every interview:
• What have I left out that you think is
vital to understanding [this topic]?
• May I contact you again if I need more
information?

20. How do you use the
information you gathered?
• Quote accurately and fully.
• Check back with the source to verify
quotes. (optional)
• Attribute and cite sources.
• Acknowledge holes in your knowledge
rather than going beyond what sources
tell you.

21. Network. Cultivate sources.
• Contact me if you have questions about
reliability of your sources or how to
proceed to get the best possible
information to pass on to your
audience.
• Check out the Web resources I have
collected and evaluated on
http://cheshireloveskarma.com
• Help me add to the Web resources!