Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Reed College of Media
Department
Reed College of Media
Committee Chair
Ivan Pinnell.
Abstract
Anonymous source usage has been a much debated topic in mass communication circles ever since the Watergate scandal. This study examines the use of anonymous sources in traditional and public journalism newspapers during the 2004 Presidential campaign. A content analysis was done on four newspapers---two traditional journalism and two public journalism papers---from two states, West Virginia and Ohio, both swing states during the election. Every article written by a staff writer on George Bush, John Kerry, Dick Cheney and John Edwards from June 1, 2004 to November 2, 2004 was analyzed for anonymous source usage. The results of the study indicate that traditional journalism newspapers use significantly more anonymous sources and attributions but it also shows that both traditional and public journalism use very few anonymous quotes.
Recommended Citation
Srinivasan, Jayendran, "Anonymous source usage in traditional and public journalism during 2004 election campaign: A content analysis study" (2006). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 3239.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/3239