Aggregation On Patch
Aggregation is a tool to stay competitive and be a multi-dimensional source to our readers.
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What is aggregation?
Aggregation is when we use — and hyperlink to — verifiable sources to write a news article.
Why aggregate?
Primarily, because we want to serve our users and Patch philosophically is source agnostic. There are lots of reasons, but often it’s because at least one other news outlet has published credible information we have not independently confirmed.
This is very common in breaking news, but also happens if another news outlet has exclusive information. We also do this sometimes to save time. If there’s a time-sensitive story you don’t have time to independently report out, you can aggregate information if it’s reported by multiple other news outlets.
How To Properly Aggregate News Articles
Decide whether the story should be aggregated.
Is this story breaking news that needs to be published ASAP? If so, it might be best to aggregate information and get the story live and alerted before you’re able to independently verify the information.
Are multiple credible news outlets reporting the same information based on credible sourcing? If so, it’s a story that lends itself to aggregation. This includes newspapers and most, but not all, TV stations. This does not include blogs, chatter or secondhand accounts.
Are other news outlets using sources speaking on the record? Are they official sources or just people on the street? Avoid aggregating based on anonymous sources unless a manager gives you explicit permission to do so. If you falsely publish that your local mayor died and based it on two outlets quoting an anonymous source, that’s not good and hard to defend.
Try to confirm aggregated information. Many times you will be able to confirm aggregated information. You should always strive for original reporting, especially if the information is readily available. If the information is publicly available, there’s likely no need to aggregate.
Strip out aggregated information once you have confirmation. Don’t wait for independent confirmation if other credible news organizations are reporting the information and you have the ability to aggregate.
Use Proper Aggregation Style
To aggregate a story, you must properly attribute your information. You did not confirm the information on your own, someone else did. Say who or what, and include where that information came from, where possible.
“County Executive Bob Knowitall told The Associated Press.”
“Fire Chief Steve Knownothing told The Gazette-Herald.”
“The Daily Chronicle reported, citing internal emails and memos.”
“CBS12 reported.”
Always link to the source article AND include publication name.
Rewrite aggregated information. Don’t plagiarize. Don’t simply copy and paste what someone else said and slap on attribution to it. Rewrite that information because in all likelihood you can write it stronger than they did. Tell the story in your own words and do not repeat exact phrases from the source.
Don’t overuse information. They got the story. We should not be simply raiding their stories and then including an attribution. Keep these short. No more than a few paragraphs. And prominently attribute.
Different Styles Of Aggregation
Single Source Aggregation: Doing a super brief linkout to another story, not more than one or two grafs. Includes attribution in the lede and a big linkout at the bottom directing readers to the original story. It's also common for initial breaking news drafts.
Multi-Source Aggregation: Using information from multiple (2 or more) news outlets on the same or adjacent topics for a story. All the info here is still aggregated and must be clearly attributed.
Aggregation Blended Into Original Reporting: When you have an originally reported story but use details from other news organization as well. Again, must be clearly attributed with links.
Do:
Always rewrite the information, no matter the style of aggregation.
Attribute clearly for every aggregated detail, this is about transparency between you and your readers.
Confirm the aggregated information yourself where possible and strip out the aggregation once confirmed. For example, in case of a rapidly developing breaking news story.
Hyperlink to keywords in the story and not to the name of news sources.
Stick to credible news sources.
Keep it short.
Don't:
Copy and paste or repeat exact phrasing. This is plagiarism.
Aggregate if the content is based on or coming from dubious news or other sources.
Link to another news article without writing the name of news source in the Patch story.
Use too much aggregated information. Let the reader find the full story and details on the other website. This is also about good will and being a responsible part of the larger journalism community.
Rely on aggregated information without trying to confirm for breaking news stories.
Aggregate every story - we’re still a news site, after all.
Forget to link.
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