On the condition of anonymity : unnamed sources and the battle for journalism / Matt Carlson.

Introduction : the problems-and promise-of unnamed sources -- Media culpas : prewar reporting mistakes at the New York times and Washington post -- "Blogs 1, CBS 0" : 60 minutes and the Killian memos controversy -- Journalists fight back : Newsweek and the Koran abuse story -- Deep Throat and the question of motives -- "Journalism on trial" : confidentiality and the Plame leak case -- Rethinking anonymity : problems and solutions.

Matt Carlson confronts the promise and perils of unnamed sources in this exhaustive analysis of controversial episodes in American journalism during the George W. Bush administration, from prewar reporting mistakes at the New York Times and Washington Post to the Valerie Plame leak case and Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS News. Weaving a narrative thread that stretches from the uncritical post-9/11 era to the spectacle of the Scooter Libby trial, Carlson examines a tense period in American history through the lens of journalism. Revealing new insights about high-profile cases involving confidential sources, he highlights contextual and structural features of the era, including pressure from the right, scrutiny from new media and citizen journalists, and the struggles of traditional media to survive amid increased competition and decreased resources. -- from Book Jacket.