"I have used anonymous sources during my long career in journalism.
I also have been an anonymous source.
SPJ has a Code of Ethics for journalists
So let’s take a look at it, as regards the anti-Trump hit piece in The Atlantic.
It is a hit piece, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
That doesn’t mean it is true, either.
It used four anonymous sources to report that President Trump referred to U.S. war dead as “suckers” and “losers.”
Would the reporting be more credible had author Jeffrey Goldberg named his sources?
Yes, without question.
Why didn’t he name them?
Journalists almost always try to get a name to go with the comment.
That’s mentioned in the Code of Ethics.
You didn’t know journalists have a Code of Ethics?
It was developed by the Society of Professional Journalists, the largest association of journalists in the U.S.
I have been a member since 1972.
The Code of Ethics is voluntary, a list of recommendations followed by most journalists, even though most journalists are not members.
Here is a passage that deals with anonymous sources: “Consider sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Reserve anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution or other harm, and have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Explain why anonymity was granted.”
...There is another side to the anonymity:
The source has to have confidence in the journalist to protect identity.
Whenever you trust a reporter, you are taking a chance, and I would not automatically trust a journalist I did not know...Read all.
