Newspaper Organizations

Rationale For The Proposed Study

Proposed study is based on examining the issue that whether newspaper reporter be required to reveal their sources or not. Rationale behind selection of this issue is to assess that what are the different issues faced by the reporter if they reveal the sources or why it is important for public to assess the sources (Keeble, 2005). In addition to this there were also very less research studies which are conducted on this issue as it is one of the important issue in public interest. This proposed study is also important in terms of academic purpose that whether as students will be recognize that is it essential to reveal the sources of information which is represented by newspaper reporters. Concerning on different aspects of issue which is very critical and requires lots of judgment to make correct decision, with the help of this research report an effective decision will be made that whether the reporters should required to reveal their sources or not (Ihlström and Henfridsson, 2005).

Business Research Question

In context to chosen topic for the purpose of research, below research questions are framed for the study. These research questions are to worth to solve for evaluating the decision that whether sources of information should be reveal by newspaper reporters or not.

• Whether newspaper reporters are required to reveal their sources or not?
• What will be impact on newspaper reporters if they required revealing their sources?
• What are the different issues faced by newspaper reporters if sources of information will be revealed?

Research Objectives

On the basis of aim and research questions, below the research objectives for study are farmed. These objectives will help the researcher to examine the issue in in-depth and critical manner. In addition to this it will also facilitate to conduct the study in appropriate manner.

Aim

To evaluate that should newspaper reporters be required to reveal their sources or not.

Objectives

• To examine the impact on newspaper reporters if they required revealing their sources
• To critically evaluate the issues faced by newspaper reporters if sources of information will be revealed in public interest
• To recommend the suggestions that whether newspaper reporters are required to reveal their sources or not

Literature Review

In literature review section, the findings and reviews of different authors and reporters are detailed that reporters should b required to reveal their sources or not. This issue has always become debatable issue that whether sources should be protected or not. In accordance with the media regulation based on article 19, it is believed that information which is to be delivering to public such as any wrongdoings, political corruption, criminals are to be exposed (Article 19: Protection of sources, 2015). But it states that there should be condition of anonymity is to be prevailed. Anonymity is always termed as preconditions for such as cases as there is always fear of retaliation for the sources that name of person will be disclosed in public.

According to Denniston (2014) the statement of court itself has an issue. Court has not detailed any guidelines or specifications that whether the news reporters or journalists have any right not to reveal the sources of information (Denniston, 2014). One of the case examples of this issue was case of Branzburg v. Hayes 1972, in which the decision of court was that news reporters cannot be forced to reveal the sources when there is any case which is related to the crime (Overbeck and  Belmas, 2011).

Another case in cases of International law which specifies about the protection of sources and also the freedom of right to express the information was the case between Goodwin v United Kingdom of 1996 (Ihlström and Henfridsson, 2005).  On critical analysis of this case it was evaluated that protection of sources by the reporters is one of the basic condition as if there is not any protection  and then there may be chances of deter (Farrell and Cupito, 2010). On the other side the role of press and media to reveal the accurate and correct information will also be affected as they will not be able to provide that information which is essential for public interest. Similarly as per European Convention on Human Rights stated in their Article 10, right of the freedom of free expression will also be violated (The European Convention on Human Rights, 2014). In Article 10 it was also detailed that media, broadcasting channels and television channels will not be restricted by any agencies to broadcast any information. There is no need of revealing the sources and every citizen has right to express their views freely (Overbeck and  Belmas, 2011). From this case of Goodwin v United Kingdom, it was concluded that if the reporters or journalists were forced to reveal the name of sources of information which were published by them will violate their rights (Gall, 2011). It will violate the right of person to receive any information and also to impart them and on the other side it will also violate the right of freedom to express any information (Porta, Ravarelli and Spaghi, 2013).

The court of justice also reviewed that protection of the sources from revealing is also one of the basic conditions as it will deter the sources and also make impact on press to those matters which are essential for the sake of benefit of public interests (Graham and Smart, 2010). Revealing of information may create the issues for news reporters at the time when the information is important for public interest and revealing of sources may create issues for reporters in terms of retaliation. Though there are also some negative impact of not revealing the sources as it is not necessary that the information published is always right and beneficial for interest of public (Ihlström and Henfridsson, 2005).

Research Methodology

Application of research methodologies implies evaluation of the issue in critical and systematic manner. This section is one of the important section of the study as it will specifies about the methodologies which will be applied in the research in order to attain aim and objectives (Mark, 2002). Below the different tools and techniques which will be applied in study are detailed.

Research Design

In the proposed study descriptive research design will be applied in order to assess the issue regarding disclosure of sources of information by newspaper reporters (Manion, Cohen, and Morrison, 2007). Rationale behind application of descriptive research design in the study is to evaluate the different issues regarding reveal of sources and impact of sources is they will be revealed in market. Though there are different types of research design such as experimental, causal, case study and exploratory research design, but implementing the framework of descriptive research design will explore the issue in more comprehensive manner (Daniel and Sam, 2011).

Research Philosophy

Research philosophy of positivism will be applied in the report to evaluate the issues faced by the news reporters if sources will revealed and also the impact of these sources. Another type of philosophy is interpretivism which is mainly applied in qualitative type of study and used to interpret the results of analyzed data (Creswell, 2013). In this research positivism research philosophy will facilitate the researcher to examine the collected data in quantitative manner and also it will facilitate the researcher to conclude the specific results for the study that whether the sources should be reveal by reporter or not (Crowther and Lancaster, 2012).

Research Approach

Research approach facilitates the researcher to conclude the results either in generalized form or with some specific evidences which are proved on justified grounds. In this study, deductive approach will be followed instead of inductive research approach (Saunders et. al., 2006). Through deductive approach, results will be developed that whether newspaper reporters be required to reveal their sources or not and this will be concluded in specific set of information (Daniel and Sam, 2011). Application of inductive approach will only help the researcher to broaden the information in generalized form about the subject matter of report.

Research Type

Proposed research study will be based on both quantitative and qualitative type of research to evaluate the issues and impact regarding revealing of sources by the newspaper reporters. In context to aim of the study, both quantitative and qualitative tools of research methodology will be implemented. On the basis of results, final findings and conclusion will be made about newspaper reporters that whether it is required to reveal their sources or not for interest of public.

Research Techniques

Two different methods of data collection will be used to access the information for the study and it will be primary method and secondary method of data collection (Kuada, 2012). Reason behind using these different methods of data collection in the research is to examine the issue with insight views and in-depth manner. Collection of information from different sources will help the researcher to evaluate fresh data as well as information collected by the other sources (Cooper and Schindler, 2011). On the basis of these varied form of data, research questions of study will also be attained in proficient and efficient manner.

Primary Data Collection Method

Primary data will be collected from the newspaper reporters of different organizations as it will facilitate the researcher to access the fresh and appropriate form of data. Collection of primary data will be help to access their views if they reveal sources of information about the news reported by them (Crowther and Lancaster, 2012). Mainly it will facilitate the researcher to assess the impact and issues faced by them. There are different techniques to collect primary data such as survey, questionnaire, observation, interview, semi-structure interview etc. In the proposed research, questionnaire method will be used to collect the information from different news reporters (Daniel and Sam, 2011). Primary data will be collected from the newspaper reporters of Telegraph, Guardian and Times.  It will include both open and close ended questions on the basis of appropriate data will be collected from primary respondents (Manion, Cohen, and Morrison, 2007). Through this method, researcher will be able to recognize the views of newspaper reporters in better way.

Secondary Data Collection Method

Secondary data will also be collected in this study and it will be accessed from the varied sources. It will collect from the different journals, researches, online websites, articles and form many other relevant secondary sources will be used (Creswell, 2013). These data will be specifically based on the information related to the issues faced by the newspaper reporters and impact of revealing the sources on the basis of which information is published in newspapers (Saunders et. al., 2006).

Collection of secondary data in the study will make the findings and conclusion of report more authentic and also help the researcher to detail the valid and appropriate results for the research (Daniel and Sam, 2011). Collection of secondary data for research purpose will also make the task of researcher easier as some correct reviews and findings related to the subject matter will be detailed in study.

Sampling

Method of sampling: There are two different methods of sampling through which data can be collected from primary respondents that are from the newspaper reporters. First is probabilistic sampling and second is non-probabilistic sampling (Manion, Cohen and Morrison, 2007). Method of probabilistic sampling will be used in which the selection of samples for the study have equal chance or have some probability for selection. On the basis of this technique, tool of purposive sampling will be used which one of the type of probabilistic is sampling (Kuada, 2012). With the help of this sampling technique data will be collected from the newspaper reporters and to fulfill the purpose of research that whether reporters should disclose the sources regarding the news reported by them in newspapers.

Sample size: In consideration to selection of purposive sampling method, part of probabilistic sampling technique (Manion, Cohen and Morrison, 2007). The researcher has decided to collect the data from the newspaper reporters of three different organizations. These are Telegraph, Guardian and Times. Total sample size in the study will be 20 samples from which data will be accessed for the study.

Data Analysis

To analyze the collected data in the study, researcher will use both quantitative and qualitative data analysis technique. Examining the collected data by deploying both the techniques of data analysis in the study will make the findings and conclusion more appropriate and valid (Crowther and Lancaster, 2012). Data which will be accessed from the primary method of data collection will be investigated by using quantitative technique. This data will be analyzed by using statistical techniques and for this tool of SPSS will used. With the help of this software, collected data will be examined through descriptive statistics and frequency distribution. In addition to this, analyzed data will be represented through graphs, pie charts and tables (Daniel and Sam, 2011). This will also facilitate the researcher to interpret the data in appropriate manner and also to present the findings in better manner.

On the other side the data which will be collected from the secondary data will be examined through qualitative technique. To examine the collected data in qualitative manner, thematic analysis will be used (Cooper and Schindler, 2011). With the help of this technique, different themes will be prepared in order to assess the issues faced by the newspaper reporters if they published the sources along with the information published in newspapers. In addition to this it will also assist the researcher to acknowledge the impact of revealing the sources of information in newspapers (Saunders et. al., 2006). Thematic analysis will explore the outcomes and findings of the study in more appropriate and composite manner.

Deploying of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis in the study will also facilitate the researcher to accomplish the aim and objectives of research in proficient manner (Manion, Cohen and Morrison, 2007). On the other hand, outcome of study will also be proposed in efficient manner that whether newspaper reporters be required to reveal their sources or not.

Barriers And Limitations Of Proposed Research

There may be some barriers and limitations which can be encountered while conducting this research study. As per the topic of the study, researcher have to face some constraints and also inadequacy of data required in report (Gall, 2011). One of the major barrier and limitation in the study is related to availability of literature reviews and past studies on this subject matter. There were very fewer studies which are specifically conducted that whether the newspapers reporters be required to reveal their sources or not. This will be one of the major issues in the research.

Another issue which might face by the researcher will be at the time of accessing the data from the primary respondents which are newspaper reporters. Participants will not be easily ready to give their views and responses about the subject matter. On the other hand, it will also become tough task to access direct information from newspaper reporters. Barriers in the research may arrive in context to constraint of time and money (Graham and Smart, 2010). It is also one of the limitations of the research as conducting a research on this critical issue requires lots of time and money to access the information form varied sources of information.

Suggested Further Research Activity

In context to the proposed study in future also some research can be done on the similar subject matter and also in more comprehensive manner. It is recommended that further research can be conducted on examining the views of news reporters of television channels and magazine publication organizations. For the issue, whether news reporters are required to reveal their sources or not, views of reporters and journalists of magazines and television channels is also essential. Study on this topic by considering their views will also help to reveal some valuable information that whether sources of information should be reveal or not.

References

• Graham, G. and Smart, A., 2010. The regionalnewspaper industry supply chain and the internet. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal.
• Ihlström, C. and Henfridsson, O., 2005. Online newspapers in Scandinavia: A longitudinal study of genre change and interdependency. Information Technology & People.
• Keeble, R., 2005. National and local newspaper trends and the new crisis of trust – What new crisis?. Journal of Communication Management.
• Mark, A. M., 2002. The qualitative-quantitative debate: moving from positivism and confrontation to post-positivism and reconciliation. Journal of Advanced Nursing.
• Porta, M., Ravarelli, A. and Spaghi, F., 2013. Online newspapers and ad banners: an eye tracking study on the effects of congruity. Online Information Review.

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