STUDY: Most of TV's Impeachment News Pushes Claims by Anonymous Sources
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/n...eachment-news-pushes-claims-anonymous-sources
Despite the unreliable nature of anonymous sources, the three major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) have used them in nearly three fifths of their news reports about the impeachment probe since it first began, mostly to pass along damning accusations against the President that cannot be independently verified.
From September 24 — the day the impeachment inquiry was announced — to October 24, these three broadcast networks devoted 322 minutes to the probe in their evening newscasts, across 140 separate news segments. Of those, more than half (82, or 57%) relied at least in part on information from anonymous sources:
A policy piece by the
Society of Professional Journalists cautions strongly against the use of anonymous sources, noting: “Some organizations do not allow anonymous sources except in the most vital news stories.”
The
New York Times stylebook similarly deems anonymity “
a last resort,” warning: “Anonymity must not become a cloak for personal attacks. The vivid language of direct quotation confers an unfair advantage on an unnamed speaker, and turns of phrase are valueless to a reader who cannot assess the source.”
Put another way, every source who talks to a reporter is promoting the facts and spin that best reflects their agenda. When President Trump or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks on camera, viewers can make up their own minds about how much to trust what is said. But when a source hides behind the cloak of anonymity, that source's agenda is also hidden from the audience.
Nonetheless, viewers of broadcast evening news this past month were bombarded on a near-nightly basis with anonymously sourced reports about the ongoing closed-door impeachment inquiry.
Truly bulletproof stuff.
Because this impeachment inquiry is unfolding behind closed doors, journalists have relied heavily on leaks — provided on the condition of anonymity — which audiences have no means of verifying. The result is a deluge of hearsay reporting that looks more like a game of telephone than serious journalism.
