What would you have chosen to do as a journalist in this situation? Because this case study is intended primarily as a teaching resource, a password is required to view the epilogue. The purpose is to encourage readers to pause and think about how they would resolve the difficulty, before learning how the journalist(s) involved […]
Getting Plowed: anonymity and sources on the record
6. The decision-making point
Ross and Nelles had to make the decision of whether to include the names of several industry workers before writing the article. Many of the sources told stories about damage done to their property and personal threats for simply underbidding a contractor who was meant to win a specific bid. Ross was worried that if […]
5. Reporting on corruption
“Any journalist and editor will always prefer to run a hard-hitting investigative story like this that does include named sources.” –Drew Nelles The threat to snow plow workers is real. Weeks before Maisonneuve released the Winter 2011 issue, a projectile akin to a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window of a snow removal company […]
4. Guidelines for anonymity
As a guideline for most media outlets, anonymity is usually granted if there is no other way to get the information and what the source provides is integral to the story. However, there is no legislation or set policy that every news organization must abide by. Some media outlets try to remain as strict as […]
3. Anonymity and believability
Anonymity and Believability “What does the journalist have to offer to these ordinary people, who ‘give a human face’ to their stories?” – Isabel Awad, Journalists and their Sources: Lessons from Anthropology In most circumstances, anonymity should be seen as a last resort for journalists. As David Boeyink wrote in the Journal of Mass Media […]
2. Implied consent
In general, all conversations with journalists are assumed to be on the record unless the interviewee specifically requests otherwise beforehand. The journalist should identify him or herself and explain what they are writing about. According the New York University’s journalism handbook, dealings of what can be attributed to a source, and what cannot, must be […]
1. Perspectives
A journalist’s duty While reporting for the new angle of snow plow collusion, many of the sources told Ross stories about damage done to their property and personal threats they received for simply underbidding on a contract they were not meant to win. Some people she interviewed did not ask to be off the record. […]
Getting Plowed: anonymity and sources on the record
Case study by Aaron Hutchins December, 2012 Getting Plowed is a feature-length investigative report about the snow removal industry in Montreal and its “turf wars”. The article was the cover story for the Winter 2011 edition of Maisonneuve magazine. Journalist Selena Ross tells the stories of snow plow employees or private contractors who have had […]