The use of anonymous sources in journalism has always been a thorny but widespread practice. News consumers don’t like them because they are deprived of knowing who is making that statement, claim or charge. Journalists don’t like them either but view them as a necessity, particularly in matters of national security when sources are loath to go on the record.
Author: Sissel McCarthy
I love your skepticism! I also like that you’re thinking critically about what we’re teaching you and asking us to explain things that don’t sound right.
Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is one of many billionaires beguiled by the news industry. He joins Rupert Murdoch, who controls Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, Michael Bloomberg, who founded his eponymous news agency, Laurene Powell Jobs, who bought a majority stake in the magazine, The Atlantic, and Sheldon Adelson who controls the Las Vegas Review-Journal– to name just a few.
As our collective attention span wanes, people are consuming information faster than ever and flocking to content that only requires short bursts of undivided attention. Microblogs fit the bill: Short, bite-sized content posted on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Reddit, to name just a few.
You are correct that the Espionage Act of 1917 has been used to punish whistleblowers but not journalists – yet. No member of the press has been prosecuted for publishing leaked classified information, but the 100-year-old law has been called a “loaded gun pointed at newspapers and reporters.”
This is one of the greatest challenges of our time. We are consuming an enormous amount of information on a daily basis but not necessarily more informed.
As we approach World Press Freedom Day, this year there is sadly little to celebrate and much to defend. Press freedom around the world is under siege, misinformation is rampant, and journalists continue to be arrested and even killed in the line of duty. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these three threats and provides cover to authoritarian leaders already intent on curbing press freedom.
Your question alludes to a dire situation: local news is fast becoming the latest casualty of the covid-19 outbreak.
Misinformation about COVID-19 is still spreading almost as fast as the coronavirus itself. People are understandably anxious for news about how to stay safe amid the pandemic, but many are turning to two fonts of misinformation: social media and their immediate personal networks. Much of the information shared on social media or among family and friends reappears almost as quickly as it is debunked.
It may feel like a constant cascade of news, but the coverage is proportional to what could be the biggest global health crisis in more than a hundred years. And when you consider how much more globally connected we are now than during the flu pandemic of 1918, and how much the world economy relies on precisely that connection, it’s arguable that this crisis could prove to be even worse.
