| Definition of anonymous sourcing | Percent of public |
|---|---|
| Journalists take information from unknown people and publish it | 12% |
| Journalists get information from unknown people, confirm it, and then publish it | 17% |
| Journalists know a source’s identity and check their information, but do not include the source’s name | 58% |
| Don’t know | 13% |
MEDIALIT7: A majority of the public correctly understands anonymous sourcing, but a sizable proportion are still confused
Share with your networks!
About the Author: Katherine K. Ellis
Program Associate
Katherine K. Ellis is a Program Associate focusing primarily on diversity initiatives and marketing outreach for the American Press Institute.
She is a former NPR's Next Gen Radio fellow and also spent time at USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Katherine is a graduate of the University of Utah where she studied journalism, marketing and public relations. While at UofU, she served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Utah Chronicle and spearheaded its transformation from a daily printed paper to a bi-weekly print, digital first publication.
