And as we've learned in previous lessons and discussions, sourcing is so important.
Having diversity of sourcing, having comprehensive sourcing.
Having the right people and documents and
information to support what you're trying to do in your news report is critical.
Ultimately your news report will succeed or fail
on the basis of what you're doing right now during the news gathering process.
So please be thoughtful and take your time and really be critical in your decisions.
And what you think is ethically possible to do for
the best news report that you want to do.
So, what am I going to ask for you for this news report?
Well, we at Michigan State University, our Coursera team,
are asking you to have three to six sources for your capstone report.
Meaning, of the three to six, two must be human,
meaning you need to talk to somebody, you need to interview somebody.
So it can be an expert, it could be someone in your community,
it could be whatever you want it to be.
But some of your source material for your news report must be real.
Meaning you need to talk to a human being either face to face over the phone,
by Skype, in some manner.
We prefer some human to human interaction because we think that's the best
experience for you to have in learning how to be an effective interviewer.
However, if the only way you can talk to somebody is by email, or
text message or sms, we understand.
But please try to make it as in person and face to face as possible for the richest
experience, both for you, and frankly, you get better interviews that way.
So you've got two sources that are going to be,
at minimum, human sources out of your three to six sources.
So we wish you a lot of luck in getting fantastic sources.
Be very thoughtful during the process because talking to the right people can
make your news report shine.
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