A Source is a Source is a Source....

The Ledger recently received an anonymous letter with information regarding a potential story to cover. After looking into the supplied information, I was able to get to the truth of the matter. However, with an anonymous letter - how do you let them know you did your job, investigated, but will not be pursuing further for the newspaper? You can’t.

I also received information and documentation regarding a story from last week’s paper about the Town’s tax issues. The person who gave the information wanted to remain anonymous.

A few weeks ago, I published a letter to the Editor from a volunteer at the Jefferson County Health Department who wished to remain anonymous. I have had several people question why I allowed this.

All three of these examples deal with “sources” and sources are extremely important in journalism. While the Whitehall Ledger is not the New York Times, the concept is just as important here in Whitehall as it is in larger cities all over the world.

National Public Radio in the United States has a clause in its guidelines that spells it out:

“Journalists must not turn over any notes, audio or working materials from their stories or productions, nor provide information they have observed in the course of their production activities to government officials or parties involved in or considering litigation. If such materials or information are requested in the context of any governmental, administrative or other legal process this must be reported to the company.”

Let’s break each source down and how I will deal with them in future Ledger issues.

1. Anonymous information: this is a tricky one because you never know why the source wants to remain anonymous. Are they the victim of the circumstance? What are their intentions? Investigating information to get the facts is something the Ledger will always do, especially when it is a matter of interest to the community.

2. Information received from a source who wishes to stay anonymous: if the Ledger can verify the identity of the information supplier, and that their information is correct, the source will not be disclosed. Good journalism is only ever as good as our sources of information. If someone purposefully supplies incorrect information to Ledger and it is discovered, a source will not be protected by anonymity.

3. Anonymous letter to the editor: you may have noticed in the Letter Policy to the left there is a new item addressing this. My policy is based off the Ethical Jounalism Network’s: “Anonymity is a right which should be enjoyed by those who need it and should never be granted routinely to anyone who asks for it. People who may lose their job for whistleblowing; or young children; or women who are the victims of violence and abuse and others who are vulnerable and at risk from exposure are obviously entitled to it, but anonymity is not a privilege to be enjoyed by people who are self-seeking and who benefit by personal gain through keeping their identity secret.” However, the source must supply their information to the Editor and their identity verified. No letter will be published as straight “anonymous”. The Ledger will make sure the author is who they say they are.

It is my job as the Editor to make sure everything published is fact checked and accurate to the best of my ability.