Although a transparent reporting process is necessary for a publication to build trust and credibility with its audience, there are times when ethical standards dictate the use of anonymous sources.

Schools in particular are a setting with special circumstances. Student journalists must consider that many, if not all, of their sources are minors, and student publications must not risk jeopardizing the safety of their learning environment.

A student publication should be cautious and consistent in how it grants anonymity and should consider each issue from multiple angles.

In the realm of professional journalism, for example, editors and reporters at the Columbia Missourian ask the following questions before publishing a story with anonymous sources:

• Is the information absolutely essential? Put another way: Could we still run the story without the anonymous source?
• Could we convince the source to go on the record? Or could we get that information from an on-the-record source?
• Does the source think he or she will be harmed? That could be either physical harm or the loss of livelihood, but it does not mean simple embarrassment.
• Is the source hiding behind anonymity to take a cheap shot at an enemy?
• Is the story important enough to the health of our community to override the risk to the newspaper’s credibility?

The Poynter Institute suggests a similar set of questions.

Applying these questions to hypothetical scenarios provides a great learning opportunity for students. Be sure to check out the lesson on teaching ethical situations at SchoolJournalism.org for examples.

For more information on legal issues regarding the use of anonymous sources, the Student Press Law Center offers a Student Media Guide to Protecting Sources and Information.