Artikel Dunia Kerja : How to Work With Anonymous Sources (II)

How to Work With Sources Who Don't Want Their Names Published
By Tony Rogers, About.com Guide

What Should You Do?

Evaluate the information your source has. Does he have solid evidence the mayor is stealing, or merely a hunch? If he’s got good evidence, then you probably need him as a source.

Talk to your source. Ask him how likely it is that he’d be fired if he spoke publicly. Point out that he’d be doing the town a public service by helping to expose a corrupt politician. You may still be able to convince him to go on the record.

Find other sources to confirm the story, preferably sources who will speak on the record. This is especially important if your source’s evidence is flimsy. Generally, the more independent sources you have to verify a story, the more solid it is.

Talk to your editor or to a more experienced reporter. They can probably shed some light on whether you should use an anonymous source in the story you’re working on.

After following these steps, you may decide you still need to use an anonymous source.

But remember, anonymous sources don’t have the same credibility as named sources. For this reason, many newspapers have banned the use of anonymous sources entirely.

And even papers that don’t have such a ban will seldom, if ever, publish a story based entirely on anonymous sources.

So even if you have to use an anonymous source, always try to find other sources who will speak on the record.

The Most Famous Anonymous Source

Undoubtedly the most famous anonymous source in the history of American journalism was Deep Throat. That was the nickname given to a source who leaked information to Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they investigated the Watergate scandal of the Nixon White House.

In dramatic, late-night meetings in a Washington, D.C., parking garage, Deep Throat provided Woodward with information on the criminal conspiracy in the government. In exchange, Woodward promised Deep Throat anonymity, and his identity remained a mystery for more than 30 years.

Finally, in 2005, Vanity Fair revealed Deep Throat’s identity: Mark Felt, a top FBI official during the Nixon years.

But Woodward and Bernstein have pointed out that Deep Throat mostly gave them tips on how to pursue their investigation, or simply confirmed information they had received from other sources.

In other words, even the most famous anonymous source in history was no substitute for good, thorough reporting and plenty of on-the-record information.

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