Article in Poynter by Adelina Yankova, 5/27/25
Headline: “Student reporters are under pressure to protect sources — and still tell the truth”
Subhead: “As fear spreads on campuses, journalists face a new dilemma: How do you build trust when few are willing to be named?”
“Last December, Andrew Massie got a text from his roommate: He thought he had story for him. An hour later, Massie, who is a journalist at The Fordham Ram student newspaper, returned home to find several people waiting to talk. The ensuing three-month reporting journey led Massie to sift through documents and interview 26 people about alleged administrative negligence by a Fordham dean.
“Still, when the story was published in the Ram on March 5, it featured only two named sources.
“Most of the interviewees, who feared for their current jobs and future employment prospects, would only speak to Massie, the features editor of the Ram, under the condition of anonymity. In some cases, the interviews were fully off the record, meaning Massie had to confirm their testimony with others.
“Massie’s experience is increasingly common for student journalists across the country as they reckon with people’s hesitance to be named in stories. . .”
Read the full story here: