Despite promises to limit the use of anonymous sources in stories, The New York Times continues to quote unnamed sources often and “casually” on occasions when the information is available on the public record or adds nothing to the reporting, the paper’s public editor charged in his weekend column.
The Times, wrote Clark Hoyt, “allows unnamed people to provide quotes of marginal news value and to remain hidden with little real explanation of their motives, their reliability, or the reasons why they must be anonymous.”