Anonymous sources: Most reporters know that stories are only as good as the reliability of identified sources who are quoted. From the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
Tag Archives: anonymous sources
Shaky Anonymous Sources
Shaky anonymous sources: Journalists in the cyber age should shun discredited past practices like anonymous sources and off-the-record backgrounders, which damage public trust. From the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
Unnamed Sources Harms Public Trust
Reading a story with unnamed sources: Bethania Palma quotes experts who say that journalists risk losing audience trust by frequent or unnecessary use of unnamed sources.
“The public, like the reporters and editors putting a story together, should question whether the story is important enough to grant public-facing anonymity to the sources making the claims.”
Mysteries of Journalism to News Consumers
What news consumers don’t know about journalism: Margaret Sullivan asks journalists what they wish news consumers knew about their business.
“The vetting process is similar at many large news organizations — and it’s just one of the practices that journalists assume, perhaps incorrectly, that news consumers understand,” writes Sullivan. “Sourcing is one of the least understood of the mysteries.”
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 