Sources said...officials say...an anonymous source said...a resident,
who wishes to remain anonymous...said an unidentified resident... said a
resident who asked for their name to be withheld...
My career as a journalist is stained by having to use any of the
above terms at the end of a quote or phrase when I'm talking to someone
about a juicy story and they hide their identity. When you deal with the
Police Department, anonymity is respected - and “officials say” you can
tell them anything, report anything and not give away your personal
information. In that respect, I can understand someone wanting
protection – no one wants their neighbors to know that they're a snitch!
Professionally,
writing “police sources said” is a safe way for reporters to tell a
story and hope that the “sources” get blamed for any misinformation. Who
can point fingers at “sources”? The Police Department isn't going to
call a small newspaper like ours to tell us we've incorrectly attributed
our news to somewhat imaginery people. If there's a crime story that
we've published incorrectly, we're more likely to hear from family and
friends than “officials.”
Then, you’ve got the normal and casual news stories, which I enjoy
writing more than crime. I enjoy talking to people and getting different
feedback on one issue. But, unlike the Daily News or the New York Post,
I don't directly quote people as they speak, which hints at a
frustrated Brooklyn accent peppered with street slang. “You know we
don't like that business up in here,” is something I've never written as
a quote even though plenty of residents speak with that street flavor.
What amazes me more than plenty of people having great things to add
to a story is the fact that no one wants to give their name or have
their identity published. Last week, I interviewed Breukelen Houses
resident Wendy McClarin about the “improvements” to their buildings –
namely the new elevators, which are, individually, roughly the size of
two caskets (sorry for the morbidity).
As McClarin randomly asked passersby for their thoughts on the new
elevators, I was hoping to get a good quote to add to the story. After
all these years as a reporter, I'm still surprised when someone doesn't
want to give me their name and a brief statement. Even a couple of
people who had some really insightful sentiments on the elevators didn't
want their names published.
Did you commit a crime? Are you wanted anywhere in this country and they're going to track you down through the Canarsie Courier?
Are you supposed to be at work and your employer will find out you were
still home since your name is plastered in a community newspaper?
If you're not a criminal, what's the big deal? Who are you hiding
from? Can't you use another name? Canarsiens will never know if you use a
different last name, right? Maybe you don't want your neighbors to know
what you really think of what's going on. Maybe your opinion will upset
someone who controls your living conditions.
Let's get real! Could it get any worse if you reveal your identity?
Those of you who cringe at giving your name to a newspaper for a quote
make us reporters look like we're making stuff up! We could be
pretending to quote someone just for the sake of spicing up a story.
Your name adds validity to what could be a hard core story that changes
others' lives. There are certain residents or officials whose names I
would respectfully omit. If they’re a minor or a victim of a sex crime –
or if they’re a public school teacher who doesn’t want to lose their
job. But withholding your name when speaking about a quality of life
issue seems to defeat the purpose of the story. When we write “residents
complain” in an article, it implies that there are real people behind
the scenes who want to see change implemented.
Amazingly, not one person – other than Wendy McClarin – wanted to
offer their name for my story. So many residents and no one has an
identity. Maybe the story has no point since everyone is so tightlipped.
But don’t quote me on that...oops, guess it’s too late...
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