One News Source Rejects Unnamed Sources

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One radio station in Santa Fe, New Mexico has had enough. "It is the policy of KSFR's news department to ignore and not repeat any wire service or nationally published story about Iran, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia or any other foreign power that quotes an 'unnamed' U.S. official," news director Bill Dupuy told his staff. "We should not dutifully parrot whatever comes out of Washington, on the wire or by whatever means, no matter how intriguing and urgent it sounds, when the source is unnamed. I am also calling on our colleagues in other local news departments -- broadcast and print -- to take the same professional approach." President Bush inadvertently proved the wisdom of KSFR's policy at a February 14 press conference. Bush contradicted an earlier briefing by "unnamed officials" in Baghdad claiming that "top Iranian leaders" were behind weapons used against U.S. troops in Iraq, reports Editor & Publisher. "I do not know whether or not the Quds Force was ordered from the top echelons of [the Iranian] government," Bush said.