Posted on 05/17/2012 4:18:41 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
The biggest problem with the unnamed source is that in reality, my source on a story covering Obama may be Joe Biden (hypothetical of course), but the reader does not know that. Nor do I have any way to do so without naming him and providing a recording with witnesses. That source may be 100% truthful and accurate, but the reader just does not “know”.
That said, there are indeed instances where use of them is the difference between an article or none at all. This then starts down the fuzzy path. Would I personally use one? Only if I could provide corroborating evidence from documentation or another named source backing the unnamed one. Did I ever? Not in my newspaper career. I never reported on something so important to warrant using one. I did when doing motorsports coverage at another job, however that is entertainment, not news.
The unnamed source IMO leaves, nay, invites the kind of tactics used by the Dem party and libs. Any counter can be brought to bear and there’s almost no way to disprove that Counter. Best practice IMO? Hold the story until you can prove/verify it or if it’s a Watergate level of import, clearly tell your readers that XX is a RUMOR at this time that you are working to verify. But label it truthfully.
Today, the unnamed source is little more than a literary device. Or an out so that no one can be held to account dor anything. And most people free from blowback will SAY ANYTHING to feed their ego. They may be the ‘unnamed’ source, but they will have ‘friends in the media’ to tell their buddies about and broker their own power that way.
Norm. Don Morgan here. From LP, SL, and TL. Email me hello. mizterboston at that g mail place
Nope LOL. An old friend of Norms. Hard to track him down.
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