Anonymity hypocrisy

Two weeks ago, Newsweek incited a riot within the White House with its article alleging American interrogators mistreated the Koran by flushing it down the toilet, which in turn was credited for violent riots in Afghanistan. The allegations, aided in Newsweek by an anonymous source, created a backlash in the U.S. regarding the media's use of such nameless sources.\nThe Bush administration was quick to criticize news organizations for what the administration sees as an overuse of anonymous sources in attempts to generate negative attacks. Of course, this is only a problem for the Conservative Republican base when its president's administration is the subject of such stories. Where were the attacks on anonymity when totally baseless stories surfaced during the Clinton administration? Sources close to this and close to that popped up everywhere, especially during the president's controversial tryst with the infamous intern. \nBut now, as it's a Republican president's watch under the microscope, the use of anonymous sources has become a gross misuse of supposed journalistic integrity It's funny how views can shift so swiftly. \nBut like anonymous sources or not, they have changed the landscape of American journalism and even brought an end to a presidency.\nThis week, Vanity Fair uncovered the mystery of "Deep Throat," the anonymous liaison for Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Deep Throat assisted the two in their efforts to crack the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post and his identity was to be kept secret until his death. \nHow did Vanity Fair decipher the mystery that has baffled historians, college classrooms and pundits abound? In a shocking twist of events, the magazine, working on a story with such a grand scale, declined to use an anonymous source. Who'd they use? W. Mark Felt, Deep Throat himself. \nWhew! Isn't that a relief? An anonymous source would have opened up a whole new can of worms. \nFelt told Vanity Fair he didn't think being Deep Throat was a big deal and in his position as second in command of the FBI at the time of the scandal and that leaking information was nothing to be proud of. While Felt might truly believe that, this being the main reason he has kept mum on the subject for so many decades, he now has allowed the public to place a face on the most famous anonymous source in American history. \nWe had the voice and the silhouette courtesy of "All the President's Men" and now we have a face, and perhaps a reason for Felt's divulgence of information. \nFollowing the Watergate scandal and the Post's revelations, anonymous sourcing leaped exponentially. Every news outlet wanted the next Deep Throat, the next big scandal story. Now nearly 30 years later, the Bush administration and its abhorrence for the usage of anonymity can thank W. Mark Felt, or, as he'll forever be remembered, Deep Throat.