Now, regarding:
- copies of research articles
- copies of internet research
- bibliographies
- lists of references
- inventories
- thanks to everyone
- glossaries
- credits
- lists of contributors
They are not needed in mainstream publications. Only in academic publications. However, keep your own list and copies at home on standby in case your editor questions something. But don't send the list to your editor.
- He's not interested to read it
- He's certainly not going to check it out
- And of course he's not going to publish it
So if you send it to him, you only cause him great irritation in having to edit-out your unnecessary list.
Let me explain the thinking, because it surprises students who have come straight from university. At university you are taught to show your working: every source listed, every quote footnoted, a bibliography as long as the essay itself. That is right and proper for a marker who has to check that you did the reading. A newspaper reader is not a marker. They want the story, told well, and they trust you to have done the checking before you typed a word.
But here is the part you must not skip. Although the reader never sees your sources, you still keep every one of them. Note where each fact came from, who said it, when, and how you can reach them again. File your interview recordings and your documents somewhere safe. This private trail is your insurance.
The day will come when someone disputes a fact, or a lawyer's letter arrives, or your editor rings and says "are you sure about this?" On that day, the reporter who can produce the exact source in two minutes is golden, and the one who shrugs is in serious trouble. So: no bibliography in the paper, but a full and tidy record on your own desk, always. Show the reader the story, and keep the proof to yourself.