Monday 23 May 2005

Major Media Looking At Story Sources

No More Anonymous; Only Friends and "A Guy I Know" To Be Used

White House To Offer List Of Approved Sources

Major media and news organizations, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, NBC News, and others, say they will cut back and/or eliminate the use of anonymous sources.

Following the retraction of a Newsweek article describing the abuse of a Koran at Guantanamo Bay Prison, the media has come under heavy fire on the rampant use of anonymous sources, especially from the White House. Other scandals, including CBS News's reporting on President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service during last years' presidential campaign, have run into trouble using anonymous or unverified sources.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was particularly harsh in his criticism and yesterday, joined the major media in the solution by announcing a special, approved list of sources that the media can employ.

"We have a number of sources, still under contract, that the media can quote and employ" offered McClellan.

McClellan went on to reference Jeff Gannon and Armstrong Williams as being available. Both men were widely disparaged when it was discovered that, in their roles of journalists, they were also on the payroll of the White House, to promote or position a Bush Administration policy.

McClellan, when pressed about using paid White House sources, defended the program.

"These people are professionals, who have been vetted and are under contract … It's all above-board"

Meanwhile, editors of the top news organizations are going about adopting new sources policies.

Reporters must now quote only "friends", and can use "I guy I know", when writing their articles. Family members, co-workers and "a friend-of-a-friend" may also be used. Such sources as "I heard", "on-the-grapevine" and "people are saying", will not be allowed.

The editors rejected a White House request that reporters get a photocopy of the sources driver's license or passport.

The most famous use of a anonymous source came during the Watergate Crises, when a source known as Deep Throat helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein expose the White House scandal and cover-up. The subsequent investigation and hearings lead to calls to impeach then-President Richard Nixon, who later became the first U.S. President to resign, in disgrace, from office.

"This administration", said one editor who is a friend of a friend, "will cut a sources throat before that ever happens again"


Study Shows College Grads "Dropping Out"

Studies Abandoned; Blogs, Podcasting and Apprentice New Goals

With tens-of-thousands of young people discarding their caps-and-gowns during the upcoming weeks, prepared to face and challenge the real world, a new study shows that an overwhelming number of college graduates have far less ambitious plans.

The Center for the American Way of Life, an obscure think tank in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, released results for a two-year study they conducted on the habits and advancement of college graduates and were somewhat surprised at the results.

"We had a good deal of cross-referenced platforms in our study" offered Thaddeus Curtis, president of the CAWL, "designed to secure the most prominent and detailed motives of the study subjects".

Curtis indicated over 15,000 recent college graduates were in the program.

The results released show a growing trend of young people abandoning further studies or entry into the job market, opting, rather to stay living at home and engaging in blogs, podcasting or applying for Donald Trump's hit show, 'The Apprentice'

Some of the results show;

87% living in their parents home or basement
63% currently writing blogs
47% currently producing podcasts
53% have sent applications to 'The Apprentice'

Curtis said that the numbers grew as the study progressed and showed a continued trend in the direction of "dropping out".

"I suppose we'll have to do a second study of reading and analyzing the blogs and podcasts to see if we can figure out what's going on".