behind the news

Anonymice and Elephants

March 1, 2005

Jack Shafer of Slate today continues his intrepid pursuit of anonymice — those infuriating anonymous sources relied upon by so many Washington reporters — and he finds plenty, most of all in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Shafer reminds us that after the Washinton Post (which now owns Slate) and the New York Times tried to crack down by amending their anonymous sources guidelines and demanding fuller descriptions of said sources, the use of the annoying rodents actually increased. (Not surprising to anyone who was ever ordered, “Don’t think of a pink elephant!”)

And now, Shafer says, “Like insatiable vermin eating and rutting their way through a bulging grain elevator, anonymice continue to multiply in the pages of the top dailies.” Two exceptions: USA Today and the Wall Street Journal, which escaped unscathed from Shafer’s Nexis search for all stories over the course of a week containing the words “senior administration official.”

Most tellingly, Shafer finds that almost all quotes from anonymice during that week were pointless drivel, not juicy stuff, nor even newsworthy tidbits essential to the stories that they infested.

Note to Washington reporters: All the more reason not to bother.

–Steve Lovelady

Sign up for CJR's daily email
Steve Lovelady was editor of CJR Daily.