Fun With Lexis-Nexis, Chapter 1:
The NY Times’ Anonymous Sources

Last June, The New York Times issued a new policy on confidential sources: It stipulated that when a reporter granted anonymity, he/she also needed to provide an explanation for why that particular source did not wish to be named.

(Executive editor Bill Keller wrote, “A year from now, I would like reporters to feel that the use of anonymous sources is not a routine, but an exception, and that if the justification is not clear in the story they will be challenged.”)

So, out of curiosity (and with far too much time on our hands), we decided to look at all the reasons given by Times reporters in 2006 for the granting of anonymity to sources.

Basically, the explanations break down into several broad categories. We tabulated the number of times that that type of reason was used to explain a source’s anonymity from 1/1/2006 to 4/6/06 (where the Times used the word ‘anonymous’; there were other instances in which other terms were used which we did not count):

Not Authorized to Comment (often due to government, diplomatic or grand jury rules; corporate directives): 86

Privacy of the Matter (negotiations, talks, discussions, conversations were “internal,” “private,” “confidential,” “secret,” “under wraps,” “classified”): 45

Good Manners (to avoid “straining relations,” “angering,” “alienating,” “implicitly criticizing,” “conflict,” “complications,” “upstaging superiors” or not want to “awaken new controversy,” “worsen the fissures,” “jeopardize own sources,” “hurt,” “embarrass,” “be seen as interfering,” “drag boss” or “told not to exult publicly,” “no political gain,” “considered improper,” “political ramifications”): 36

Ongoing Investigation: 25

Sensitivity of the Matter (i.e. “delicate stage of negotiations”, “fragile nature of the talks”): 21

Timing (deal or talks were “not completed” or “not finalized”): 20

As a Condition of Talking: 14

Fear of Payback (”retribution” legal or unspecified): 11

No Reason Given: 11

Source’s Job Security: 8

Source’s Physical Safety (i.e. “fear that he would be killed”): 8

Popularity: 1%

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 9th, 2006 at 5:08 pm and is filed under Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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