Could Sourcing be the Answer to Britain's Journalism Woes?

As News International's ex-executives and editors are arrested and charged left, right and centre, the Leveson Inquiry continues to drill into why Britian's journalism culture has led it to a plethora of phone hacking and police corruption all in the interests of a front page.


Apart from those in power being in the pockets of journalists, police and vice-versa -- could anonymous sourcing be, well,the source of the issue?

This bit by Charlie Brooker's Newswipe explains it all.

If British Journalists had to TELL people where they got information from unless it was absolutely imperative they hide their source (Watergate style)...Then could we see the end of naughty journos and their even naughtier police officer and politician buddies?

Watch the video and see for yourself, but methinks Leveson needs a new inquiry with sourcing at its core...

Addendum: This has really got me thinking about journalism in Australia and I think we suffer from something similar.. the number of times I had to pick apart a story in the newspapers while I was working at the ABC, only to find that apart from not being clear on who the original source was, the details were wrong, or misrepresented and blown out of proportion. It always left me wondering whose bidding we were all doing...