1 post tagged “attribution”

I would say three different people is standard.

Of course, it depends on a lot of variables such as availability, article length and nature of the story. For instance, in breaking news for a big metro, you may only be able to get two reliable voices in the alloted time.

And sometimes in a feature--although lengthier--two strong sources really can carry the entire piece, if the reporting is solid. For others, numerous voices (much more than three) are necessary, because the story emphasizes a need for diverse viewpoints (like a political issue).

If you can get a lot of voices--great. But at the same time, you don't want to your article to sound like a series of quotes or a long string of attribution. And just because you do 10 interviews, doesn't mean you have to quote every one of them.

The most recent article of mine that ran this week had seven voices, but that's because they all came from such different perspectives. And it was a 500-word story, which is really long in daily journalism.

It's really up to each reporter's discretion, but three is generally a good number to enclose.

-Kim Hartman