Newsweek still doesn't get it

One other thought on anonymous sources. In the same issue in which Newsweek said they're going to improve their policies and procedures on anonymous sources, there was strong evidence that the Newsweek editors still don't get it.

An article on Latino political power said that the John Kerry campaign missed the boat with Latinos in 2004. This point was essentially well sourced. But, to illustrate it, Newsweek used an anecdote from a Georgetown dinner party in which Kerry allegedly "offered what two guests called 'a full mea culpa' and the assurance that he'd strive to avoid a similar fiasco in the future." Parenthetically, Newsweek reported the two guests "asked not to be named because they considered it a private event."

This is the exact kind of anonymous sourcing that is gratuitous and unneeded. The anecdote does not advance the story enough to justify anonymity. The premise the anecdote supports already had been clearly stated and reported. Nor is the story important enough for anonymous sourcing. Nor does Kerry get a chance to confirm or rebut. Well, maybe Kerry himself is a source. If so, all the more reason not to allow him to hide.

Consider the irony of this appearing in the same issue of Newsweek offering its own mea culpas. Unbelievable. Arrogant. Stupid. Hypocritical. And more ammunition for those who say journalism simply does not have its act together.