« Technical Difficulties... | WILLisms.com | Mentoring Paul Wolfowitz. »

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 66 -- Anonymous Sources.

ANONYMOUS SOURCES, 1981 versus 2001-

A new non-partisan study indicates that the use of anonymous sources in media coverage of the President is less rampant under the Bush administration than under the Reagan administration:

*Overall, the use of anonymous sources declined by 33%, from nearly 1 out of 4 sources (24%) cited during Reagan's first year in office, to 1 out of 6 (16%) in Bush's first year.

*The Washington Post and New York Times cited unnamed sources nearly 1/3 of the time (30%) in covering the administration in 1981 but only 1/5 (20%) of the time in 2001. The decline was sharper at the Post-- 37%, compared to the New York Times' 28% drop.

*The use of anonymous sources in local papers fell even more sharply, a 42% drop from 1 in 4 sources (24 percent) in 1981 to 1 in 7 (14 percent) in 2001.

*The broadcast networks had the lowest proportion of unnamed sources during both administrations but still cut back on their use of unnamed sources, from 16 percent in 1981 to 14 percent in 2001.

Two potential explanations:

1. Journalists have determined that anonymous sources, although they helped uncover Watergate, ultimately make the public more skeptical about the news they are consuming.

2. More likely, President Bush, and his administration, run a notoriously tight ship. Leaks are not tolerated.

Source:

Center For Media and Public Affairs (.pdf).

Related reading:

More on curbing the use of anonymous sources.

Previous trivia tidbits:

Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9; Part 10; Part 11; Part 12; Part 13; Part 14; Part 15; Part 16; Part 17; Part 18; Part 19; Part 20; Part 21, Part 22; Part 23, Part 24, Part 25; Part 26; Part 27, Part 28; Part 29; Part 30, Part 31; Part 32; Part 33; Part 34; Part 35; Part 36; Part 37; Part 38; Part 39; Part 40; Part 41; Part 42; Part 43; Part 44; Part 45; Part 46; Part 47; Part 48; Part 49; Part 50; Part 51; Part 52; Part 53; Part 54; Part 55; Part 56; Part 57; Part 58; Part 59; Part 60; Part 61; Part 62; Part 63; Part 64; Part 65.

Daily Trivia Tidbits cover a wide range of topics, and they're usually not trivial at all; you never know what you might find. Stay tuned to WILLisms.com for more.

Have a trivia tidbit tip? Send it over to WILLisms@gmail.com with citation.

Posted by Will Franklin · 3 June 2005 10:52 AM

Comments

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at June 5, 2005 06:22 PM