Sources and Experts: Where to Find Them and How to Vet Them

Introduction

By Melinda Wenner Moyer / 2 minute read

People say that success is all about who you know. In journalism — and science journalism in particular — success is all about who you talk with. Reporters’ approach to a particular science story — angle, perspective, even the decision to cover it or not — will be shaped by the sources interviewed and the perspectives and expertise those sources provide. Is this potential new cancer cure laudable? That can be a hard question for even the most seasoned reporter to answer, but a good source can address the question knowledgeably. Is this new theory about dark matter plausible? The right physicist can put the idea into context.

Sources are also crucial for finding and building narratives. An otherwise bland story can blossom when it weaves in the tale of a scientist’s long and tumultuous path to discovery. The real-life implications of a drug’s clinical trial become much clearer and important to readers if they get to meet a patient whose life could be transformed by the medicine. Science is conducted by people with complex lives and stories and backgrounds, and it affects people with equally complex lives and stories and backgrounds. The more that reporters can bring humanity to the science, the more their readers will value it.

How can reporters find sources with just the right expertise? How should they vet their sources to make sure they’re appropriately knowledgeable and don’t have an axe to grind? How should writers ensure that stories include diverse voices, and what’s the best way to present opposing viewpoints? These are hard questions, but some, at least, have straightforward answers.