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Editor’s note: On paying sources

It's long been seen as an unethical practice. Perhaps it's time to reconsider

Erica Lenti

Journalism ethics handbooks have, for decades, pedalled the same line of thought: Reporters and their sources should never exchange money. Paying sources is, as John Cook described in a piece on the matter for the Columbia Journalism Review, akin to paying for sex; it’s morally ambiguous, depending on who’s asking. It’s often easier to err […] More »