Use of anonymous sources down at the NY Times
Use of anonymous sources by reporters at the New York Times has been cut in half since 2004, when the Jayson Blair incident prompted the newspaper to rewrite its sourcing guidelines, reports the paper’s public editor. However, Clark Hoyt also said most unnamed sources were still not adequately described by reporters and the amount of anonymously sourced opinion actually increased.
Anonymous sourcing at the Globe and Mail
Those interested in the issue of sourcing by Canadian reporters might want to read Denise Rudnicki’s recent study of the use of anonymous sources in the Globe and Mail (PDF) during a six-month period in 2005-2006. Rudnicki concluded that anonymous sources quoted by Globe reporters were most often used to insert “colour and comment” and “added little to public discourse.”
Use of anonymous sources by reporters at the New York Times has been cut in half since 2004, when the Jayson Blair incident prompted the newspaper to rewrite its sourcing guidelines, reports the paper’s public editor. However, Clark Hoyt also said most unnamed sources were still not adequately described by reporters and the amount of anonymously sourced opinion actually increased.
Anonymous sourcing at the Globe and Mail
Those interested in the issue of sourcing by Canadian reporters might want to read Denise Rudnicki’s recent study of the use of anonymous sources in the Globe and Mail (PDF) during a six-month period in 2005-2006. Rudnicki concluded that anonymous sources quoted by Globe reporters were most often used to insert “colour and comment” and “added little to public discourse.”
