Attribution and Anonymous Sources

It's a simple formula:  Lack of attribution = lack of credibility = lack of readers.

There is nothing difficult about attribution. It's simply saying who or what your source is, whether it's a fact, an opinion or a quote. As we've discussed in class, attribution is the soul of journalism because without it, your article or broadcast is not believable. Reporters need to protect themselves. In the event that the information proves to be false, at least the reporter can truthfully say that her source was wrong, not her. And attribution establishes credibility by showing  readers or listeners where they can go if they challenge anything in the article or if they want to obtain more information from your sources.

Getting the story first is nice. Getting it fast is nice too. But getting itright supercedes everything else. Without journalistic integrity, reporters or publications have nothing to offer readers or listeners. Recently an Irish college student conducted a media experiment that, unfortunately, major news organizations failed. The results were alarming and should make everyone -- especially aspiring journalists -- remember to not only attribute their own facts, but to check and re-check any unattributed information they obtain online. Click here to read an article about the hoax. Your thoughts?

On a separate note,  All the President's Men is a classic illustration of the watchdog role of journalism and how no one, not even the President of the United States, is above the law. More than 30 years have passed since Watergate. Given the technology we have today, as well as the greater emphasis on homeland security, do you think Woodward and Bernstein's job would be easier or more difficult if they were investigating the same series of events today?

One thing's for sure. Deep Throat, their anonymous source for many of the stories, was instrumental in helping them uncover the Watergate scandal. For years Deep Throat's identity remained a mystery until Mark Felt, former associate director of the FBI, admitted in 2005 that he was, in fact, the parking garage informant. While some praise Felt for his  courage, others consider him a traitor for leaking classified information to reporters. Click here to see this point of view.

Do you think Deep Throat was a hero? Or was he maybe someone who disliked President Nixon and used Woodward and Bernstein for his own agenda? How do you feel about the value and trustworthiness of anonymous sources?
  

Tough Questions?

Flickr photo by Keith Allison

As the controversy surrounding the Ray Rice scandal continues to unfold, numerous members of the National Football League are coming under fire.  The main questions are what did they know and when did they know it? Now members of the sports media are also coming under fire for not uncovering the facts of the story that a gossip news organization like TMZ was able to.  Journalists are supposed to ask tough questions. It's becoming clear that many of them didn't. Or those that did ask tough questions accepted non-answers too easily.

Click on these three links to familiarize yourself with the story and share some of your thoughts. First watch this video clip that provides an overview of the Ray Rice story itself. 

The second is a link to a sports blog critical of the media's handling of the story. 

And the third is a video of a press conference held by Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh earlier this week.

Listen carefully to the news conference. The focus was on the new video that emerged showing Ray Rice beating his then-fiancé inside an elevator. Harbaugh dismissed important questions about the new view of the assault with “I don’t want to get into that” replies. What do you think of the reporters' handling of the coach's non-responses? Should they have been tougher or more persistent in their questioning? Did they play "softball" with this football coach?