[WikiEN-l] Human dignity

[Delirium]

Stephen Bain wrote:
> On 7/15/06, Bryan Derksen <bryan.derksen at shaw.ca> wrote:
>   
>> I don't even see what's so undignified about this particular incident
>> that anyone would argue it on that basis in the first place. Everyone
>> does boneheaded things from time to time.
>>     
>
> This particular incident may only be embarrassing; what is undignified
> is AP's reportage using a full name.

It's standard journalistic practice to report names unless there's some 
reason to believe that doing so would cause the person imminent harm 
(e.g. Mafia witnesses).  The main reason is so that news can be 
verifiable by outside sources.  There is also sometimes an exception for 
sources who have agreed to talk to a journalist on condition of 
anonymity, but that is increasingly discouraged for the same 
reason---articles based on "a source who asked not to be named" could 
be, and sometimes have been, entirely made up.

-Mark