Misuse of anonymous sources in sports reporting

My boyfriend, Kevin, found an article on ESPN.com relating to “My paper on the use of anonymous sources.”

A Boston Herald sports writer reported that the New England Patriots taped a walk-through of the St. Louis Rams in 2002 before their Super Bowl match-up. The reporter talked to several sources, but he heavily relied on just one. And that one asked to remain anonymous.

Take a minute to read the article about it here: “Herald reporter: ‘Devastating leap of logic’ led to story.”

Sometimes it seems these sources request anonymity for a reason - and then provide inaccurate information to the public.

 

On the job as a freelance reporter

Today I was referred to as the reporter from the Tribune. God, that has a beautiful ring to it.

Instead of keeping my first article as a freelancer for The Fort Pierce Tribune to a phone interview as my editor had suggested, I set up a meeting with the subject of the story at his middle school along with his mother. Then she was able to put me in touch with his father and other great sources for the story. My day consisted of making questions, asking questions and now recording them in a readable fashion for the newspaper.

Unfortunately, I’m still waiting to hear back from one crucial source. I’m hoping I can get a hold of her tomorrow to finish the article.

It’s going to be a feature story for the front of the local section. However, it’s not a timely piece, so it could be published any day in the next month. I’ll keep you updated.

I’m flipping back and forth between my article and this blog posting, fighting off the blurriness of my tired eyes. I’ve only gotten five to six hours of sleep every night since I’ve moved into my place, and it’s finally caught up to me tonight.

This reporter is going to bed before midnight on a Friday night. Now that doesn’t have such a nice ring to it.

 

My paper on the use of anonymous sources

The use of anonymous sources in the news has been debated among journalists and non-journalists alike since its inception. According to the American Journal Review, many inaccuracies arose from the use of anonymous sources in stories about the O.J. Simpson case. It revived the debate and deepened the divide. Journalists can agree that identifying the sources in their stories is ideal but not always feasible.

Proponents of the use of anonymous sources say some stories can’t be told without using them. They look at the issue on a case-by-case basis. Most blame their use on competition even if studies show it makes the stories and journalists look significantly less credible to readers.

There have been several instances where history showed the positive of using anonymous sources. For example, everyone knows the story of Watergate from 1973. Anonymous sources were the basis from which the story grew, and Deep Throat was the key to unlock the mystery. If Woodward, Bernstein and The Washington Post didn’t use these anonymous sources in uncovering the scandal, President Nixon’s resignation may have never occurred and the public may have never learned the truth.

Opponents of the use of anonymous sources say they hinder credibility. They apply universal rules to the issue. Some blame their use on lazy reporting; if the journalists really tried, they could get the source to agree to be named.

There also have been several instances where history showed the negative of using anonymous sources. For example, not everyone knows about the Janet Cooke scandal from 1981. This former Washington Post reporter wrote “Jimmy’s World,” an article about an 8-year-old heroin addict with “needle marks freckling the baby-smooth skin of his thin, brown arms.” That same Woodward nominated the story for the Pulitzer Prize, and it won. But then people started checking and found her sources were fabricated, and Cooke made up the story. She said she did it because of the pressure of the Post environment to satisfy her editors.

Newspapers take risks when they print stories like these. Other journalists would agree that anonymous sources should be used as a last resort. In other words, they should only use them in their stories only if they absolutely have to. An easy step-by-step process should be used to decide whether or not to use anonymous sources.

First, the journalist needs to pressure while still assuring sources to get them to agree to be identified in the paper. If still unsuccessful, the journalist then should see if they could get that same important information from anyone else who would permit identification. But if this source is the only one, journalists must explain in their stories why this source needs to be anonymous. The more open and honest the journalists are with their readers, the more credible the journalists appear to be.

It’s important as a journalist not to make a habit of using anonymous sources. It’s no way to build a relationship of trust with your readers and editors. The more these readers and editors trust the journalists, the more room the journalists have to use anonymous sources. Credibility simply begets credibility.

 

Meeting with editor yields first freelance assignment

If I compare my journalism career to a racetrack, today was the starting line. And it went wonderfully - for the first part.

The Fort Pierce Tribune editor and I met this afternoon at the Tribune building conveniently located around the corner from my place. Walking back to her office, I couldn’t help but share with her that my dad constructed this building with R.K. Davis in 1984. The conversation flowed from then on, and we talked about the job, the assignments, the industry and even UF professors she remembered from her Gators days. Then she gave me a “tryout story” with a deadline of Friday at 5 p.m.

I wanted to jump on it immediately. Right after I got home from our meeting, I called the contact person for the story to schedule an interview with her and other sources. Unfortunately, she had just left work but would be back later, so I left a message. When I hadn’t heard anything after a couple hours, I called again. The business was already closed at 4 p.m., so I left another message and hoped for the best.

Now the pressure is on. There are at least three sources I need to talk to tomorrow to finish writing the story on Friday, so I’m feeling some stress. It’s not as if I’m new to deadlines; they’re the same as due dates for school assignments.

However, this scenario is different. I had no reason to be nervous today because I was just getting a story. But now is the time to impress the Tribune editor with the questions I ask, the information I use and the story I write. Now the nerves kick in.

It’s time to get to work.

 

Theories about Titanic’s sinking, democracy’s cycle

What sank the Titanic? An iceberg, right?

Jennifer Hooper McCarty disagrees. She discussed the book she co-authored, What Really Sank the Titanic, with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report tonight. After traveling to England for the research, McCarty found the board was under pressure at the time to find rivets to finish building the ship, so they used “substandard rivets” as well as “unskilled workers.” Read more about it here at the official Web site: CSI: Titanic. Read The New York Times article about it here: In Weak Rivets, a Possible Key to Titanic’s Doom.

Also, my parents gave me a printout of a short article from Texans for Texas to read. Even though it’s still some time before Memorial Day and Independence Day, it’s too interesting not to share “The Cycle of Democracy” with you now:

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From Bondage to spiritual faith;

From spiritual faith to great courage;

From courage to liberty;

From liberty to abundance;

From abundance to complacency;

From complacency to apathy;

From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage.”

America, we are now somewhere between the “apathy” and “complacency” phase of the democracy cycle with some 40 percent of the nation’s population already having reached the “governmental dependency” phase.

Think about it.

Let Freedom Ring.

 

Let there be wireless

And on the eighth day, God created the Internet.

Or maybe it was those guys from MIT. Either way, it feels like heaven to have it in my place.

It’s a shame I had to deal with multiple phone calls, long automated menus and rude customer service to get it set up. A certain cable company representative talked to me like I was an idiot when she sarcastically asked if I knew the difference between a modem and a router (I told her I’ve done this before). It wasn’t until the end of the day that another representative admitted they hadn’t finished activating it yet - on purpose for ridiculous reasons beyond my comprehension.

I don’t want to name any names - cough, Comcast, cough - but I wouldn’t recommend that cable company to my worst enemy.

But I do have to say it’s pretty cool to be able to walk anywhere in the house and have Internet. It’s also nice to have a hot shower and a clean kitchen almost ready for use. As much as there is left to do around here, one thought kept creeping into my mind today: Wednesday afternoon.

I wasn’t nervous about my meeting with The Fort Pierce Tribune editor until last night’s nightmare. I wasn’t dressed, couldn’t get to my car for some reason and was running later and later for our appointment. I was so stressed in the dream I awoke heart pounding and soaked in sweat this morning.

Now I plan to be ready for the real deal by 9 a.m. You’ll be the first to know how it goes.

 

Welcome to the real world

I thought my blog post after the first day in my place was going to have a different theme.

Excitement turned to frustration as my first shower there had be to a cold one. My dad spent all day fixing the bathtub’s single-handle faucet. He knows a plumber who’s coming by tomorrow to finish the job.

A tip: never go a year without running the water in your home.

However, the real tragedy came when I couldn’t detect a wireless connection around my place with my laptop. I’m not being dramatic - there’s no life worse than one without Internet. We all depend on it for just about every aspect of our lives, even if we don’t admit it. But there’s no reason to be ashamed - it’s just the way the world is, so embrace the Internet.

I’m embracing my parents’ DSL at their house for now. I’m hoping I can get Internet hooked up at my place by the beginning of the week.

Then we came across more problems. No peephole existed on the front door, so my dad - the handyman always concerned with my safety - drilled a hole and put one in today. Also, everytime we opened the door at night, the bugs from the front porch light would fly inside. Instead of spending her Mother’s Day at the beach, my mom - the handywoman - shopped for groceries, house items and a bug light that won’t attract insects.

Some things have been resolved, and some are in the process. But there’s still so much to do: choose cable, manage utilities, unpack boxes, organize rooms and basically set up a new life.

Although I’m still excited, I’m just not so idealistic anymore. I guess this is my wake-up call to the real world.

 

The big move from college to the real world

After living in Gainesville for all four years of college, I finally moved away today. Instead of being sad, I was ecstatic to come to Fort Pierce.

Who wouldn’t be excited to go from a duplex with just one room to claim as my own to having an entire house to myself? Moreover, who wouldn’t be pumped to live in that house rent- and tax-free?

Sadness only hit when it was time to say goodbye to my boyfriend, Kevin. It’s hard to leave the person who has been attached to my hip the past year. But as hard as it was to finally break our final hug, I knew it was necessary for me to go. Change is an unavoidable part of life.

However, Memorial Day weekend is only two weeks away, and he’ll come to visit then. And there’s nothing like Fort Pierce beaches and the cove on Memorial Day.

There’s just nothing like this town. Driving with the windows down to my new house, I noted the scents outside change in an instant from orange blossoms to grilled hot dogs.

It’s good to be home.

 

My goodbye to the Gators and Gainesville

I wasn’t surprised when I received my acceptance letter from the University of Florida during the end of my senior year of high school. During that time, females in the top 10 percent of their graduating classes were generally accepted. (But I’m not so sure I’d get in here now; these new kids are geniuses.)

UF wasn’t my first choice - I wanted to go to St. Mary’s at Notre Dame, an all-girls Catholic liberal arts college. I could have gone there, enjoyed college with Corey and be tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Instead I went here, branched out on my own and am leaving college debt-free (largely due to my hard-working parents). I converted from a Gator-hating Seminole to bleeding orange and blue.

As we find with most things in life, we don’t get our first choice for a reason. But we don’t see that reason until later down the road after several weeks, months or even years have passed. I was meant to be a Gator.

Today was my last day in Gainesville.

I even told the tanning bed employee it was my last day early this morning after she told me it was my last paid tanning session. I saved my last one for my last day to - in a way - pay tribute to the ridiculous ritual practiced by so many girls here of literally absorbing “cancer in a box,” including me. Before coming to college, I would have never done something so crazy. Many of you know about my first time before freshman year formal - I almost had a panic attack in that tiny, hot tube blaring an annoying Gwen Stefani song blaring in my ears.

I spent half the day cooking. I made a breakfast sandwich - bacon, sausage and cheddar cheese on an onion bagel. For dinner, I fried chicken Parmesan served with macaroni and cheese. Living here this year with a full kitchen has been wonderful; I’ve discovered my love of cooking. I’ve compared it to the fact that I loved to read, so I wanted to be a writer; I’ve always loved to eat food, so I’d naturally love to cook it.

I spent the other half of the day packing. It’s very depressing to see my senior year and entire college experience packed up in cardboard boxes in the corner of our living room. The duplex is going to be almost bare by the time my parents and I have packed the trailer and hauled it home tomorrow afternoon.

As much as it saddens me that this isn’t going to be our living room anymore, I just have to remind myself of what I’m driving to tomorrow: my own house.

 

Political blogs transform electoral landscape

Every Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m., I watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report after (and then I’m usually in bed by midnight). They often feature authors on their programs, and Jon Stewart had a guest tonight who wrote “Blogwars: The New Political Battleground” written by David D. Perlmutter, a journalism professor from the University of Kansas.

Perlmutter said the increase of political blogs due to the election are helping democracy. The politicians can’t blog because of their busy schedules, so they hire people to do it for them. He also said people are blogging about more than just the Iraq war; they’re posting about their own special knowledge on topics, like a foreign country.

He also said most journalists have blogs. Looks like I’m on the right track.

However, my blog will never be political. Of course I have opinions, but, as you know, I can’t express political opinion if I want to maintain my credibility as an objective blogger and journalist.

Click here for a great description of “Blogwars” from its publisher, the Oxford University Press.