Abstract

Media ethics connects with the procedures that are morally permissible in journalism practice. They enable the journalist to right-mindedly seek satisfaction of the people’s right to know. Among other principles of journalism, the ethical provision to source the news anonymously has attracted an unending debate, questioning its pertinence to the media’s responsibility to service the political system by honestly making information accessible to the citizenry, through the news and other journalistic formats. The paper weighed in on this question in the light of objections that the media have reacted to certain situations in society, in manners considered dishonest. Relying on library sources, it discovered instances, the revelatory role of anonymous sources in the news kept society served with momentous information about government that would have eluded the citizenry and that this provision has exposed vile citizens in leadership to the society. Findings suggest that the possibility of being exposed is capable of goading cabals in government to keep in check, tendencies to self-servingly classify information. The paper equally reveals untoward instances of anonymous sources in the news and enjoins scrupulousness over reliability concerns, lest questionable elements exploit this provision.

Key Words: Anonymous Sources, Media Ethics, News Sources, Media Credibility, Source confidentiality.

About the Author

* Oyakemeagbegha Musah, Orcid ID: 0009-ooo6-8659-9959, is of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 18, No. 1, Special Issue 4, January 2026, pp. 148-156.

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

Article Citation

Musah, O. (2026). Weighing the concept of anonymity in news gathering against the reporter’s enduring drive for news credibility in nation building. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 18 (1, SP.4): 148-156.

Full Article

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Pages: 9

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