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Notes on "Burning a Source"
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Notes on "Burning a Source"

Some additional commentary on points about journalism ethics that may deserve further expansion.

So I realize 2019 was like a million years away in all of our memories, but if you were paying attention to Martin Shkreli-related news then you probably remember the Wall Street Journal cell phone story.

It was right there on the front page of the paper (Ok, below the fold), very juicy scoop, it leapt off the page. Lots of details. Although it didn’t quote from Martin, there was lots of his personality woven into it. And there was a lot of speculation on the internet about how the reporters got it.

Well, I posted a section earlier talking about all of that, Burning a Source. But I think there’s a few points worth expanding on:

First of all, did Martin have a contraband cell phone?

Second of all, what is “burning a source,” why do I think it happened, and why is that bad?

Third of all, what did I take away and learn from this?

Listen to this audio if you want to hear the answers, and if you want to hear more updates about SMIRK.

Other relevant recent SMIRK sections:

Seeds of Discord

”Justice” is Zugzwang

Thank you again for subcribing to SMIRK!

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SMIRK
SMIRK (audio version)
My experiences uncovering the story of, and falling in love with, Martin Shkreli.