Great Moments in Journalistic Ethics

OK, OK, I know you're going to say that "journalistic ethics" is an oxymoron; if that's your view, feed this fuel to your fire. From E&P:

An investigation into the sourcing and accuracy of news stories by a freelance journalist at a leading Internet news site concluded that the existence of dozens of people quoted in the articles could not be confirmed.

Wired News, which publishes some articles from Wired magazine, paid for the review of stories by one of its frequent contributors, Michelle Delio, 37, of New York City. It disclosed results late Monday.

The review determined that dozens of people cited in articles by Delio primarily during the past 18 months could not be located. Many of the people who were cited as sources and who could not be located had common names and occupations and were reported to be living in large metropolitan regions.

Wired News' editor in chief, Evan Hansen, confirmed those conclusions earlier Monday. "I wouldn't dispute any of that," he said.

Delio's comment underscores her cluelessness:

"I don't understand why my credibility and career is now hanging solely on finding minor sources that contributed color quotes to stories I filed months and years ago."

(h/t Media Bistro)