Friday, April 23, 1999
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Friday, April 23, 1999 |
I would like clarification on your newspaper's policy in identifying unidentified sources. In the lead article by John Thompson in the April 2 edition, he cites "a source who wishes not to be identified." The article compared the recent purchase of two trucks by the Mayor and City Council of Senoia to the purchase of a vehicle in 1997 by former Mayor Kathy Goodell. The circumstances of these purchases was totally different. The recent purchase had been approved in the 1999 budget. Having been elected to the City Council in 1997, I have taken pride and received numerous compliments that this Mayor and City Council relate well to each other, as well as to the citizens of Senoia. We have worked hard at keeping our meetings open, eliminating gossip and working in cooperative efforts for the future of the city. I consider this article inflammatory and solely written to continue the misinformation and gossip that shrouded the city before the current administration. After the article was published, I contacted Dave Hamrick of your staff for clarification of your policy for "unidentified source" and have not heard back from him. Dianne Cleveland Senoia [Editor's note: Generally speaking, we prefer complete identification and attribution for all quotes and information contained within a news story. In a very few instances, a source asks not to be identified, usually because the source is someone close to the situation and fears retribution. We have to make such calls based on the newsworthiness of the information, the trustworthiness of the source and the likelihood of retribution against the source. When we believe any one of those three elements is weak or missing, we decline to quote the source anonymously. In this case, we believed the elements warranted the use of an unidentified source.]
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