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Posted December 08, 2013 05:03 · last edited December 08, 2013 05:05

I merely brought it up to see if there would be consistency in the opinions, and Dale's stuck to his guns so I respect that.

Where I'm coming from is as what you mentioned - unnamed sources. When somebody writes "Fairfax understands that...", what follows is basically a quote from an unnamed source, except paraphrased, which I guess helps anonymity, and just makes it easier to read, I guess it's just a practice.

So in that respect I don't think you need quotes if there isn't going to be a name attached - and since this is an exclusive (therefore time is of the essence in breaking the story) - often there is no time to go and ask Tommy Smith's opinion, and besides, he'd be un-contactable right now.

Sometimes journalists have to run with a story based on strong information from people they trust, and that's what you see with basically all exclusive news stories. Sometimes the thirst to be first outweighs everything else, and that can sometimes be detrimental in news breaking. We shall see how he treats a follow-up story.

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N-Bomb edited December 08, 2013 05:05

I merely brought it up to see if there would be consistency in the opinions, and Dale's stuck to his guns so I respect that.

Where I'm coming from is as what you mentioned - unnamed sources. When somebody writes "Fairfax understands that...", what follows is basically a quote from an unnamed source, except paraphrased, which I guess helps anonymity, and just makes it easier to read, I guess it's just a practice.

So in that respect I don't think you needs quotes if there isn't going to be a name attached - and since this is an exclusive (therefore time is of the essence in breaking the story) - often there is no time to go and ask Tommy Smith's opinion, and besides, he'd be un-contactable right now.

Sometimes journalists have to run with a story based on strong information from people they trust, and that's what you see with basically all exclusive news stories. Sometimes the thirst to be first outweighs everything else, and that can sometimes be detrimental in news breaking. We shall see how he treats a follow-up story.

N-Bomb edited December 08, 2013 05:05

I merely brought it up to see if there would be consistency in the opinions, and Dale's stuck to his guns so I respect that.

Where I'm coming from is as what you mentioned - unnamed sources. When somebody writes "Fairfax understands that...", what follows is basically a quote from an unnamed source, except paraphrased, which I guess helps anonymity, and just makes it easier to read, I guess it'd just a practice.

So in that respect I don't think you needs quotes if there isn't going to be a name attached - and since this is an exclusive (therefore time is of the essence in breaking the story) - often there is no time to go and ask Tommy Smith's opinion, and besides, he'd be un-contactable right now.

Sometimes journalists have to run with a story based on strong information from people they trust, and that's what you see with basically all exclusive news stories. Sometimes the thirst to be first outweighs everything else, and that can sometimes be detrimental in news breaking. We shall see how he treats a follow-up story.