Abstract
The contribution of electronic information technologies to breaking general assignment and routine beat news stories in large metropolitan newspapers is examined through a content analysis and in-depth interviews with reporters. Reporters working on breaking news stories make heavy use of their own paper's electronic backfiles and of fax technology, but do not use other information technologies available to them. Reporters use multiple sources for their stories and claim that electronic information technologies make it easier and faster to identify sources. However, the content analysis reveals reporters rely on the same types of sources representing the same institutional and social power structures as in the classic newsmaking studies.
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