The media and their sources...

[TurfToe]

... there was once lots of talk here about how journalists HAD to reveal their sources in order to be taken seriously. Some of us - I know I was one - said that's B.S. and tried to explain how and why the media use 'un-named' sources.

This has long been a bone of contention legalistically but things are really heating up now...

http://tinyurl.com/4mm78a

[Muley69]

Re: The media and their sources...

Certainly, naming your sources brings a measure of credibility to the information being reported.


Having said that...I know that most reporters might know jack squat about the topic they are reporting on. If the un-named source is credible, with legitimate information that is plausible, then that 'fact' will come shining through in the writing of the article.

[Diesel]

Re: The media and their sources...

Once upon a time, the media used to sit on the line between black and white. Nowadays the media tries to create as much news as it reports so it's harder to afford them the same leaway.

[Party Time]

Re: The media and their sources...

wow that is one aspect of un-named sources I never considered. The legal implications certainly make this a complex situation. Who's to say whether the freedom of the press is higher than the law???

[Diesel]

Re: The media and their sources...

Reminds me of a verse in a great song...

" I used to trust the media to tell me the truth;
tell us the truth.
But now I see the payoffs everywhere I look
Who do you trust when everyone's a crook? "



Rep to the one who can name the tune....

[Deathsdoorstep]

Re: The media and their sources...

We got the bubble headed bleach blonde, comes on at 5. She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye. It's interesting when people die. We love Dirty Laundry.

[Deathsdoorstep]

Re: The media and their sources...

Reminds me of a verse in a great song...

" I used to trust the media to tell me the truth;
tell us the truth.
But now I see the payoffs everywhere I look
Who do you trust when everyone's a crook? "



Rep to the one who can name the tune....

Revolution Calling

[Numberz]

Re: The media and their sources...

Revolution Calling by Queensryche

[Diesel]

Re: The media and their sources...

[TurfToe]

Re: The media and their sources...

For the sake of diplomacy I'm not going to say a thing despite my BS detectors sounding louder than an air raid siren.

edit-- and I'm not talking about the song/lyrics/band. Only the gross misconceptions that make me shake my head.

[Opus]

Re: The media and their sources...

For the sake of diplomacy I'm not going to say a thing despite my BS detectors sounding louder than an air raid siren.

edit-- and I'm not talking about the song/lyrics/band. Only the gross misconceptions that make me shake my head.

I don't know Jack, I mean there has to be a distinction between real news and tabloid journalism.

It is really easy for a reporter to run with "sources" and use it to create anything. No matter what harm and damage it causes.

What are the checks and balances to ascertaining the validity of the sources and such? I suppose it depends on the integrity of the individual reporter.

I'm not necessarily for naming sources, but there has to be some kind of accountability to the power the press wields. Let's face it, with a stroke of a keyboard, they can damage a person beyond repair.

[Rayminator]

Re: The media and their sources...

Most of the time journalists should reveal their sources. However, there are exceptions to this rule.

Say you're working for a large corporation and you discover the corporation is engaging in unethical or immoral behavior. You could expose your employers in the media in the hopes that the bad PR will force them to rescind said bad behavior, but the source has to be protected.

Otherwise the company just fires the whistle blower and boom problem solved for them.

[Muley69]

Re: The media and their sources...

For the sake of diplomacy I'm not going to say a thing despite my BS detectors sounding louder than an air raid siren.

edit-- and I'm not talking about the song/lyrics/band. Only the gross misconceptions that make me shake my head.

Two words.

Marty York.

I'm sorry ... but for every 3 credible journalists there is one of him. And that's the problem for people in your industry. Until you have a professional organization that effective "polices it's own", this perception will continue.

[stamphater]

Re: The media and their sources...

If you say 'un-named sources' and what you say comes out as true later you build yourself cred. If you pay attention long enough you figure out who actually has sources on the inside and who is Marty York.

[Party Time]

Re: The media and their sources...

If you guys actually read the article you would see that the issue isn't credibility....