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"The Rationale is Not All That Clear" for Anonymous NY Times Column: Prof. Jeff McCall '76

"The Rationale is Not All That Clear" for Anonymous NY Times Column: Prof. Jeff McCall '76

September 7, 2018

The decision by the New York Times to publish an anonymous op-ed column by a person only identified as "a senior official in the Trump administration" is being discussed in other media outlets. "DePauw University professor and media analyst Jeffrey McCall told Fox News that it’s extremely unusual for any newspaper to let an anonymous source post an Op-Ed or even letter to the editor," a Fox story notes.

"That's because news organizations normally feel people who want to speak out should have to take ownership of their viewpoints," Dr. McCall says. "Further, it protects the news organizations from possible claims that the comments are concocted. The Times steered from this established practice and the rationale is not all that clear."

Brian Flood writes, "McCall said the characterization of Trump’s White House being in chaos could well be true, but readers need additional information about the source to put the claims in context, and labeling the op-ed author as a 'senior official' is not all that helpful."

The professor states, "This matter, in my opinion, should have been handed over to the news side of the paper, so that reporters, not opinion editors, could have fully vetted the source, challenged the source's assertions and provided more overall dimension. Then reporters could have decided if the source deserved anonymity." McCall adds, "It is one thing for reporters to protect sources' names, but another for the editorial division to protect people."

You'll find the complete article here.

Jeffrey M. McCall is a 1976 graduate of DePauw, where he was a Rector Scholar and speech (communication) major and worked on student radio station WGRE, which he now serves as faculty adviser. McCall earned a master's degree from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. He joined the DePauw faculty in 1985 and is the author of Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences.

Regularly cited in reports on media matters, Dr. McCall recently authored a column for The Hill on free speech issues and talked with Southern California's KPCC-FM.

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