Aggregation

As a digital publisher, we pride ourselves on original, fair and accurate reporting. As such, when using content sourced from another publication or article – whether it is inside or outside The South African, local or overseas – we strive to use the outside source as a departure point only for further investigation/reporting. In instances where we have to use content from other sources in order to reflect what is happening in the news, the guidelines below will apply to avoid plagiarism:

• Apply the rule of proportionality when using someone else’s material.
• Use nothing more than is necessary.
• Fair usage (not more than 15% of the original) is taking only what is reasonable to accomplish your legitimate purpose of conveying the news.
• Excerpts should be used in such a way that they do not in effect reproduce the original stories or become a substitute for them. In other words, the audience should still want/need to read the original article. An exception would be breaking news in which there are only a few facts to report.
• It is not enough to simply rewrite the original story or to identify your source – this does not constitute fair use.
• Err on the side of caution when the original piece is an exclusive and where it is clear that the publication/digital property has allocated substantial resources to create the content.
• Where possible, allow a reasonable amount of time to lapse before you publish material from another source.
• The frequency of the publication/digital property should be taken into account when determining the reasonable amount of time before you use their information. For example, info from a weekly magazine would require a longer lapse than a news website. The exception would be breaking news.
• You need to have at least three different, reliable sources.
• Always try to trace the original source as opposed to using another news publication as your source.
• If unavoidable, mention the original news source, but do not link to them.
• Remember, external links are only allowed from the third paragraph downward.
• Refer to other media by name and not only by genre when sourcing from them. Do not use vague references such as a Sunday newspaper/women’s magazine/blogger.
• When using audio-visual content from another source, display the original source’s logo if available and clearly indicate that the content was taken from them.
• In the case of social media, only use posts, tweets or other information that are open to the public and where the settings are not private.
• Credit the original social media source and preferably embed or display the original post or tweet.
• Always rewrite and paraphrase quotes you didn’t source yourself, particularly those belonging to experts. And after paraphrasing and rewriting, state clearly that the quote was given to the original publication, and not The South African. A quote from IOL: “André de Ruyter’s badly managed exit from Eskom shows just how out of touch the government is regarding the ongoing electricity crisis that has engulfed the country,” says political analyst Ralph Mathekga. The South African’s aggregation: Political analyst Ralph Mathekga, speaking to IOL, said De Ruyter’s exit was mismanaged and showed government’s incompetence.

Expand the original story and add value. See the original as a departure point, not the story itself. The exception would be breaking news, with only a few facts that you have to report immediately. However, go back into the article and add contextual information, to make it a unique story.

Please also note that we do not aggregate or quote from News24 and its affiliate sites, namely: YOU, go!, home, City Press, Rapport, Beeld, Netwerk24, Huisgenoot, Drum, True Love, Daily Sun, Sarie, Fairlady, Kuier, Die Burger, e-Editions, City Vision (Mangaung) Express, Mthatha Express, PE Express, People’s Post, Kouga Express, Komani Karoo Express, UD Express (Uitenhage), Bloemnuus, Noordkaap Bulletin, VrystaatKroon, Vista, DistriksPos, Eikestadnuus, Hermanus Times, Paarl Post, TygerBurger, Weslander, Worcester Standard, Weskusnuus, SNL24, Soccer Laduma and Kickoff. Rather find it from another source.

We also do not use any content or images from the Snow Report.

If in doubt, ASK your manager.