Getting the approval of the news owner. Also, putting the news with a backlink to the source. These are more ethics, rather than rules.
Actually, there are rules ... called copyright laws. You can't take anything verbatim from another website, publication, broadcast or other media without the express written permission of the copyright holder, unless the copyright has expired (which occurs for works that are more than 50 years old). Taking something without permission is commonly known as "stealing."
Absolutely, you can't just copy another site's content unless you want to get sued. You might be able to use a small excerpt under fair use, but that's still a risky business to be in. Press releases however are a different matter, as these are intended for people to use and distribute.
Hi The way I do this is to try and find the real source, which is usually a press release. If its a press release then you can use it as you like. Try webwire or similar to search for that particular subject, or if the subject is a company then you may find it on their website in the press/news section. If however, it is an article written by the news organisation then it is best to make your own original comments on the article, link to it, and even include a few quotes, but do not use it in its full form if you can help it. This is hard at first, but you soon get used to it and I find now I can rattle off unique articles quite quickly. If you try hard enough and know where to look, you can find as much info as any news publisher. Andy
For the purpose of this conversation, two definitions are needed: "News" and "News Report". News is the title for an event and News Report is the communication of that event. While "News", as defined, can't be copyrighted, "News Reports" can and are. Even if you get your news from the largest agency in the U.S.A., the AP, you can't copy it because it is under copyright. Fair Use does allow for you to pull an acceptable piece of the report for usage on your own media outlet provided that you cite the source. If you do not cite the source, it is not fair use, it is copyright infringement (or a violation depending on if the source work was registered). Even a press release is under copyright, at least in part if not whole. Credit to the releasing organization must be given. For example: In a recent press release, Market Junction . . . Market Junction indicated, in a recent press release, . . . It is also good to cite your sources at the end of your article, post, et cetera. For example: blah blah blah blah Sources: 1. Jefferson, A. (2005, October 11). Copyright Under Attack. IP Monthly, 120, 56-69. If you are interested in how to cite properly, pick a style to write in and learn in. For example, in Journalism I must use AP style. In an educational setting, such as collage, it is MLA. In normally writing Chicago is normally the status quo. Of course learning these styles might be way beyond what you are doing, so simply citing your sources, any way you can, is good. Make sure the reader knows what words are yours and what words are not.