User:Borofkin/Original reporting in Sydney
Original reporting is hard work - a single article can take hours. This is a page of resources and tips for Wikinews contributors who are doing, or thinking of doing, original reporting in Sydney.
Firstly, ask for help! Leave a message on the Australian discussion page asking people to contribute to your article. They may be able to track down media releases or find additional points-of-view that should be included.
If you have any tips feel free to add them to this page.
New South Wales Police Media Unit
[edit]The NSW Police Media Unit issues press releases on events in which the police are involved. These press releases are available to the general public, and may be used as sources on Wikinews.
To speak to the Media Unit directly call 61 (02) 82636100. They give information out to anyone.
Hansard (Transcripts of Parliament)
[edit]Everything said in all levels of parliament is recorded and appears on the government website very quickly, usually less than a day. You can write articles based on these transipts (known as Hansards), and it is considered original reporting.
Experts
[edit]To balance out your article, you could get an opinion from an expert. Universities usually have an Experts Database containing contact details for academics who are willing to comment to the media on their area of speciality. All you need to do is send them an email telling them who you are, and asking them a question. The worst they could do is ignore you.....
Politicians and government
[edit]Politicians! They love to get their head on camera and their comments in the news. They employ people whose sole job is to give comments to the media (who do you think is doing the talking when a newspaper reports that "A spokesman for the Prime Minister said that"... ? It's just the dude who answers the phone when someone rings up. And you don't need to pretend that you work for a big newspaper - they're trying to get their side out, so they talk to anyone.
See Sydney politicians for media releases and contact information.
All levels of government issue *heaps* of media releases every day. There may be one that relates to the article you are working on.