The Press in Russia

Powerful owners, government officials and politicians work hard to control what journalists write and say. With elections ahead, the press faces critical tests of its independence.

How Journalists Use Sources
A report from the Second Watchdog Journalism Project Conference
Journalists meet to talk about the relationships that reporters have with their sources and to examine the potential consequences posed by changes in how sources are treated by reporters and how sources treat reporters.

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Watchdog Conference: Reporters Wrestle With How to Use Sources

Reporters Wrestle With How to Use Sources

By Melissa Ludtke• Watchdog• September 15, 1999

Name them? Socialize with them? Trust them? Read more

Introduction: Reporting on Government, National Security, Nonprofits and Business

By Bill Kovach• Watchdog• September 15, 1999

‘Watchdog journalism is the only function of journalism that justifies the freedom that journalists enjoy in this country.’ —Bill Kovach, Curator, Nieman Foundation Read more

Panel Members

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

Byron V. Acohido: Investigative reporter, The Seattle Times. Since 1998, a specialist in covering the aerospace industry and aviation safety. His five-part series detailing problems with the 737’s rudder system won 11 journalism awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Beat … Read more

Naming Sources

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

Increasingly reporters cite anonymous sources rather than provide readers, viewers and listeners with actual names. At this conference, journalists, whose work demonstrates how information was gathered from sources who agreed to be named in the story, told how they had … Read more

False Sources and Misleading Information

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

Journalists put the public’s trust in peril when they publish stories in which a source has either given false leads or misleading information. Yet some journalists at the conference worried that this is happening more frequently. Roy Gutman: “The worst … Read more

In Reporting on Whitewater, an Anonymous Source Misinformed the Press

By Gilbert Cranberg• Watchdog• September 15, 1999

Savvy newspaper readers know to be on guard when information in stories is attributed to anonymous sources. But what if a news organization relies on an unidentified informant and withholds that fact from readers? The public then is robbed of … Read more

Reporters’ Relationships With Sources

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

No topic consumed as much of the conversation at the Watchdog conference as that of reporters’ relationships with sources. How are these relationships established? How can and should they be maintained during the course of reporting a story? Where should … Read more

How the Real Story Gets Told in Pictures

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

For five and a half years, Pete Souza was the official White House photographer during the Reagan Administration. His intimate access to the President provided him with an ability to produce pictures that captured authentic expressions through which real stories … Read more

The Role of Reporters’ Judgment

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

A question from the audience elicited discussion about whether there can ever be truly “independent sources.” The whole notion of independent sources, this questioner posed to the journalists, “is an oxymoron like jumbo shrimp or educational TV.” “Is there,” he … Read more

Stages of Reporting: Finding and Using Sources

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

Several reporters devoted much of their presentations to describing how they went about finding sources and gathering information from them. In all cases, these reporters did not use anonymous sources and worked hard to ensure that information would be attached … Read more

When Reporters are Shut Out By Sources

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

What happens when reporters are shut out by sources whom they believe are necessary to report a story? Several journalists at the Watchdog conference argued that reporters often do their best work when the usual sources aren’t available. Read more

Verifying What Sources Say

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

As helpful or reliable as sources might seem to be, no reporter should accept their version of events without finding documentation to back up what they say. None of the investigative reporters at the conference could have published their stories … Read more

Working With Key Sources

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

In most reporting assignments—perhaps most often in journalists’ roles as watchdogs—following leads usually results in finding a key source, someone who can help to build the story’s foundation. How reporters work with these sources who often want, at least in … Read more

The Roles Editors Play

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

Reporters often mentioned the roles editors played in how they reported the story or how the story appeared in the paper. At times their input was helpful; other times it wasn’t. Loretta Tofani: “[When I began writing my story] it … Read more

Impact of Investigative Stories

Watchdog• September 15, 1999

Reporters sometimes devote months, if not years, to working with sources, researching and compiling information to prepare it for publication. Though what their stories reveal can be explosive and damaging to the parties involved and provide a basis upon which … Read more

International Journalism

Fall 1999: International Journalism Introduction

By Melissa Ludtke• International Journalism• September 15, 1999

Powerful owners, government officials and politicians work hard to control what journalists write and say. With elections ahead, the press faces critical tests of its independence. How Journalists Use Sources A report from the Second Watchdog Journalism Project Conference Journalists meet to talk about the relationships that reporters have with their sources and to examine the potential consequences posed by changes in how sources are treated by reporters and how sources treat reporters. Read more