The challenges of anonymous source stories: A case study of Solomon Islands daily newspapers

Abstract

This article examines the use of anonymous sources in Solomon Star and Island Sun daily newspapers in Solomon Islands. It is aimed to explore why the two newspapers use anonymous sources in the news stories they publish. The two national newspapers face many challenges in maintaining a strong sense of ethics and accountability as most reporters are not qualified, and they compete in a small advertising market to generate revenue. Consequently, they also face challenges from politicians and other public figures over publishing anonymous sources in their papers. The challenges range from threats, intimidation, compensation demands to court battles. This study includes a content analysis of the daily papers and interviews with the editors of both papers and individuals who are affected by the issue.

Keywords

• accountability
• anonymous sources
• content analysis
• ethics
• Island Sun
• newspapers