Skip to content

Seduction of Secrecy – A Discussion of Anonymous Sources

Post categories

  1. Freedom of Information
Washington is awash in secrecy; the use of anonymous sources undermines press credibility; and the media does not adequately inform…

Washington is awash in secrecy; the use of anonymous sources undermines press credibility; and the media does not adequately inform the public about open government issues, 28 journalists, scholars and freedom-of-information experts said during a symposium on “The Seduction of Secrecy: Toward Access to Government Information on the Record.” The 5th Curtis B. Hurley symposium was co-sponsored by the Missouri School of Journalism and by the National Press Club, and moderated by Missouri’s Geneva Overholser. “There are a number of things that we have to do,” said the AP’s Tom Curley. “We have to be able to walk out of a room when somebody wants to go off the record. We have to have the courage to hold the story, perhaps to get it on the record, perhaps to get a fuller context. … We have to shine a spotlight on this issue. We have to cover it more aggressively.” (3/21/05)

· Linked document

Stay informed by signing up for our mailing list

Keep up with our work by signing up to receive our monthly newsletter. We'll send you updates about the cases we're doing with journalists, news organizations, and documentary filmmakers working to keep you informed.