Justice Attorney General Eric Holder is set to resign from his post after six years in the Obama administration (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Hours before Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation Thursday afternoon, speculation among reporters about his replacement had already hit a fever pitch. A number of news outlets simply listed the possibilities, while still more began ranking them in earnest, all with little or no sourcing.
NPR broke news of Holder’s announcement at 10:40 am, citing two anonymous sources saying that “a leading candidate [to replace him] is Solicitor General Don Verrilli, the administration’s top representative to the Supreme Court.” The forward-looking detail was a natural fit in the story and, to be sure, speculation isn’t inherently bad. But amid the Beltway’s hypercompetitive media market, such details quickly mutate into rampant, often empty conjecture that finds its way into written pieces.
In news stories following NPR’s report, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and Reuters listed possible candidates without naming a favorite. But analyses published soon after instead gravitated toward NPR’s Verrilli claim, including The Los Angeles Times, which prefaced its speculation with particularly lax sourcing: “Some observers believe…” WSJ.com devoted a short post to Verrilli being “back in the spotlight.” And within a few hours, Yahoo News and The Daily Beast labeled the solicitor general “the leading candidate” — emphasis added — while analyses at the Post and Vox called him “the frontrunner.” All of these stories either cited NPR’s reporting or referenced anonymous sources.
But it didn’t end there, as evident by the Washington Examiner’s piece: “On Wednesday, two names surfaced as possible replacements: Solicitor General Donald Verrilli and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.” While Patrick served as an assistant attorney general under President Bill Clinton, it’s unclear from the Examiner piece whether it was administration officials or simply other journalists who had floated his name in today’s discussion. On WSJ.com, meanwhile, a blog post stated, without sourcing, that Patrick was “instantly anointed as the favorite to succeed Mr. Holder.” Politico called him “one much talked-about contender” while NBC reported that the Massachusetts governor was “the top name always mentioned to possibly replace” Holder. Readers can’t help but wonder whether the “sources” referenced in such stories are simply other stories.
Perhaps the emptiest speculation came from a BuzzFeed post, “Team Kamala Harris Sees Path to D.C. After Holder Resignation.” The piece, suggesting California’s attorney general as a Holder replacement, quotes a Harris backer who heads a nonprofit advocacy group and a press release from Harris herself.
Of course, any of the names mentioned above could very well head the Justice Department one day. And it’s a reporter’s job to analyze the administration’s thought process, especially when it comes to filling cabinet positions. But until speculation is backed up with real insight—and named sources—speculation is merely a shot in the dark.
Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to NPR as National Public Radio. The latter changed its name to NPR in 2010.
David Uberti is a writer in New York. He was previously a media reporter for Gizmodo Media Group and a staff writer for CJR. Follow him on Twitter @DavidUberti.