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Watchdog ConferenceWatchdog ConferenceReporters Wrestle With How to Use SourcesName them? Socialize with them? Trust them?On May 15, 1999, journalists met at Harvard University to talk about the relationshipsthat reporters have with their sources and to examine the potential consequences posedby changes in how sources are treated by reporters and how sources treat reporters. Thisconference was convened as the second in a series of conferences sponsored by theWatchdog Journalism Project at the Nieman Foundation. Reporters whose investigationshave garnered many awards shared insights, concerns and advice about ways inwhich members of the press can work more effectively with sources and thereby avoid theloss of journalistic credibility that many in the profession believe is related to the rise inuse of anonymous sources.This section of Nieman Reports contains excerpts from observations made byparticipants at this Watchdog Journalism Project conference and an article about presscoverage of Whitewater. This article exemplifies some problems that arise when reportersare misled by an anonymous source’s information. What follows is a guide to these topics:Introduction: Reporting on government, national security, nonprofits and business.List of conference panel members.Naming SourcesFalse Sources and Misleading Information“In Reporting on Whitewater, an Anonymous Source Misinformed the Press,” an articleby Gilbert CranbergReporters’ Relationships With SourcesHow the Real Story Gets Told in PicturesThe Role of Reporter’s JudgmentWhen Reporters are Shut Out By SourcesStages of Reporting: Finding and Using SourcesVerifying What Sources SayWorking With Key SourcesThe Roles Editors PlayImpact of Investigative StoriesNieman Reports / Fall 1999 3