Choosing sources
When choosing which websites or RSS feeds to use as sources for your newscasts, there are several important considerations.
🙅 Content suitability
Are all the stories this source publishes online suitable to be broadcast on the radio?
In territories where broadcast media is regulated by the likes of Ofcom or the FCC, is there a risk of gruesome court testimony or graphic descriptions of violence making their way on the air?
It is the radio licence holder's responsibility to ensure any content broadcast complies with local rules.
🚫 Copyright & usage restrictions
Are there any potential legal issues with taking stories from the sources you have selected?
If a human journalist wouldn't take the content from this source and rewrite it as their own, you shouldn't choose it as a source.
While some news organisations make their content available for partner stations to include in bulletins, they provide a dedicated feed of stories specially scripted for radio. Those stories won't necessarily be the same ones shared on their website.
Some news organisations' stories may be 'exclusives' or contain carefully chosen wording or credits, which may have to run as part of an agreement with their contributors.
Check the terms of your news partnership agreement to make sure there are no copyright issues or restrictions on how you can use their content.
You should obtain permission from any third-party sources you intend to use to provide content for your newscasts.
You can use a custom script to credit your news/weather/traffic sources as required.
Radio stations are responsible for checking the content they broadcast. While 'fair use' or 'fair dealing' are exemptions to many copyright laws, you may have to argue your case in court.
Would a fair-minded and honest person have taken a story and used it in the way your station has? If the answer is no, you should steer clear.
Ideal sources for newscasts
- Your own station's website - use RadioNewsAI to keep your on-air bulletins up-to-date while freeing up your news team to get out of the office and find stories.
- Direct sources - does your local government or other officials provide news releases as an RSS feed? If so, you could get RadioNewsAI to write the stories from the source material, using custom models and scripts to reflect your station's preferred style.
- Partner organisations where you have permission - if you have an affiliate news provider which is happy for you to take content from its website.
Consult your own legal advice for further information on the laws which apply where you are.
👎 Reliability
How much do you trust the sources you are choosing to provide your news stories?
If a factual error or other mistake is made in the source material and you broadcast it, you risk harming your listeners' trust or possibly opening yourself up to legal issues by broadcasting it.
You should only choose reliable sources where you have an agreement in place to include their content in your newscasts. The terms of that agreement should specify who is culpable for any factual errors made.