Sources, Anonymous

From the perspective of journalists, the anonymity of sources can have at least two meanings: First, a source can be anonymous in the sense that its identity is not known to the journalist. Second, the source can insist on anonymity in reporting, but disclose itself to the journalist. In literature, the phenomenon of anonymous sources is treated under various headings. One of the most prominent is unnamed sources, which describes sources who do not want their names to appear in journalistic coverage. Other terms, such as distant sources, refer to sources that are at least partly anonymous for journalists. This type of source is mainly characterized by the fact that journalists usually do not have the opportunity (or the interest) to meet the actors personally. ...