Anonymous Sources and Their Consequences

General McRaney discussed being both a named and unnamed source as a spokesman for the Air Force. Professor Wearden referred to research studies dealing with percentages of anonymous sources used and their credibility. Prichard pointed out that there are some stories that cannot be done without anonymous sources. Schmidt addressed the legal issues of anonymous sources. He maintained that reporters are too quick to accept demands for anonymity by sources. Thompson stated that reporters need to tell their superiors who their sources are. Nelson pointed out that sources have good reasons for not wanting to be identified. He disagreed with Thompson’s statement that reporters should tell their editor an annonymous source’s name. close