On Anonymous Sources
Derek Hunter
Posted: Oct 06, 2020 12:01 AM
Remember the game “telephone� When a line of kids pass along a bit of information to see how that information changes as it’s passed along? What starts at one end of the line is often unrecognizable by the other end. It’s a simple concept – the further from the original source you get, the more the information fails to reflect reality. This is what journalism has become, a never-ending game of telephone.
Actually, since “telephone†has likely gone the way of the dodo bird, with everyone communicating via text message these days, the name needs a bit of an update. The closest thing I could come up with is REO Speedwagon. That name likely doesn’t mean anything to anyone under 30, but they were a band in the '80s that had a hit song called, “Take It On The Run.†It opens with lines that might as well describe what now constitutes a credible source for journalists: “Heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend who, heard it from another you been messin' around.â€
While that level of disconnect from the original source might be enough for someone to question the stability of their relationship, it wasn’t always enough to warrant being reported. In fact, it rarely, if ever, was.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2020/10/06/on-anonymous-sources-n2577487
