Obama’s Silence Tests Paper’s Policy on Anonymous Sources

KEVIN REILLY TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST
Published: January 4, 2009

What a difference an election makes.

Through Election Day, Barack Obama was in constant motion, making campaign stops -- 23 in Virginia in 2008 -- and comments daily. His availability and accessibility made it easy to report on his campaign and his policy proposals.

Since then, the president-elect has worked in near-silence and virtual seclusion in his Chicago home. Obama has made a little more than a dozen public appearances during the transition. In some of those news conferences, he has taken just three questions from reporters. The most common phrase from the president-elect's transition staff has been, "There are no public events scheduled."

Those six words have made it difficult to report the president-elect's thoughts on significant national developments -- the bank and auto bailouts, the recession, an economic stimulus plan -- and on his nominees for key positions after he takes office Jan. 20.

To continue to bring readers news about Obama and his transition,

The Times-Dispatch has relied on unnamed sources cited by our wire services for important developments and Cabinet nominations. You may have noticed such phrases as "a senior Democratic official said" or "according to Democrats familiar with the matter" in recent stories about Obama's appointments or his plans for an economic stimulus package. In some instances, such as the rising conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories, Obama has declined to make a statement.

In most cases, The Times-Dispatch discourages the use of unnamed sources, and our reporters must have approval from senior editors to use them. This way, editors can assess the source's reliability -- we do this because we don't want the news pages to be a vehicle for an unnamed person's agenda.

In the case of national reporting about Obama's transition, we don't have the means to verify the sources or their intentions. The national wire services are protective of their sources; their answer to calls seeking confirmation has been, "The source is reliable." Editors at The Times-Dispatch who review the wire-service reports we receive discussed the reliability of sources used to report Cabinet nominees, and we decided that the most reliable sources would come from the transition team itself. Those wire reports became the basis for informal announcements on Cabinet nominees and our graphic showing the Cabinet nominations made. They also proved to be accurate when Obama appeared to formally introduce his team.

However, one nomination tested our standard. In early November, sources said transition aides had approached Hillary Rodham Clinton about a senior White House post. The rumor buzz built over the next week, and during that time wire desk editors considered the sources -- knowledgeable officials and Clinton aides -- and decided to wait for more definitive answers. By late November, there was enough to confirm Clinton as a nominee for secretary of state.

Obama's return from vacation in Hawaii should mark the beginning of a more public transition to the presidency. He meets with President Bush and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton on Wednesday, and his inauguration is a little more than two weeks away.

And in the days preceding that historic moment in Washington, we will increase our inauguration coverage. Whether you will be watching in person or at home,

The Times-Dispatch and TimesDispatch.com will offer previews of inaugural activities, what to watch for, historic events from the past, and maps to help get you to the parade route and inauguration.

Kevin Reilly is the deputy editor for the copy desk. Contact him at (804) 649-6612 or .