In following the links within Spruiell's NR article, I read this hilarious account by the Washington Post, of their
"Guidelines We Use to Report the News" written by Leonard Downie, Jr:
(excerpt)
We want to make as clear as possible to our readers where the information that we report is coming from, so they can judge it for themselves. That means attributing information that comes from other news media. It means fully identifying, whenever possible, the sources of the information we publish in our own reporting.
...
At the same time, the culture of anonymity in dealings with the news media has proliferated. Promises of confidentiality reduce risks for sources, but they also deprive readers of important information. Reporters and editors working together must weigh the costs and benefits to differentiate between those sources who truly need anonymity and those who are using it as a cover for their agendas.
...
We want at least one Post editor to know the identity of each unnamed source cited in the newspaper, as was the case during Watergate, so that editors can help decide whether to use the source in a story.
...
In our newsroom, we discuss issues of accuracy, journalistic ethics and standards constantly.
I don't think the Compost meant for this article to be a source of laughter for its readers.
What was the name of Mosk's editor; the one who knew that his writer did not know the identity of MD4BUSH? Maybe it's time those two guys take a refresher course in the Compost's "Guidelines."
It certainly looks like yet another case of liberal journalists helping to manufacture the news rather than just reporting it objectively. If, as seems highly likely now, The Post writers knew that they were getting information from an operative of the Democratic Party, they should have reported that.
That The Baltimore Sun continued to try to pass off the canard that Steffen was the "source" of the rumors about O'Malley cheating on his wife seems like deliberate deception. We pointed that out on FR back in February. They are either shameless or just incredibly stupid. Take your pick.