When unnamed sourcing was rare
March 1st, 2010
This quote from a 1960 journalism textbook makes it clear that the anonymous sourcing wasn’t always an accepted practice in journalism. Famed journalist John Hohenberg said that in the recent past,
[e]ditors generally insisted that the sources of the news must be identified by name, whether or not they could be quoted directly. The presence of an anonymous figure, who could not be described in any way except in relation to what he represented, was almost an affront to many reporters and editors. (p. 227)
He lamented that anonymity was becoming more commonplace.
Hohenberg noted that journalists were using it routinely to cover pedestrian beats like city hall and the courts. “The practice has been accepted,” he wrote. “The press has limited itself” (p. 228).
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