‘They’ Say? Who Says?
by Jerry Dunklee, Professor of Journalism, Southern Connecticut State University
Quill Online
Sometimes journalists need to go back to basics. Beginning reporters are told to gather the five W’s and the H and find the lede among them.
More experienced hands have internalized these daily requirements of the job. They collect the facts, ask the questions that lead to compelling quotes, search documents and write the article or broadcast piece to tell the story as clearly as possible.
But I’ve noticed a trend that concerns me as a news consumer and especially as someone who pays attention to ethical issues. We seem to be moving more and more toward less precise and meaningful attribution of sources.
This is a basic tenet of good journalism and, of course, written in SPJ’s Code of Ethics: “Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.”
For obvious reasons, the journalism community has concentrated on anonymous sources in recent years. That is important, and many news organizations have rewritten their internal ethics guidelines to deal with anonymity.
But that is not the issue here. It’s the daily use, or lack thereof, of clearly articulated sources for too much of our reporting.
“Experts say …” “Economists say …” “Republicans say …”
Really? Which experts? What are their qualifications to comment? Who pays their salary or grant money?