For my final project, I'm dealing with college gossip websites like College ACB and what anonymity online means for the future.
My biggest roadblock? My sources want to take a cue from that website and remain anonymous themselves. Yikes.
The new CEO of College ACB wishes to remain anonymous (I even had to interview "him" on GChat through GMail). My student sources also wish to remain nameless due to the sensitive nature of the topic. While the nature of the CEO's wish can be overcome (Higher Ed and even UPenn's student newspaper both had to interview under the same circumstances - it's a universal thing now), I'm having a great deal of trouble finding students who are willing to discuss the website under their own name - not being referred to as "undergraduate student A" or "undergraduate student B."
Does anyone have any suggestions or know anyone who would be willing to speak on the record about College ACB? Been asking around with social media, but so far, no luck!
Debbie has one of the most challenging issues yet: Getting sources to comment for a story that they don't want to comment for. Can there be a story if no sources go on the record? One suggestion I gave Debbie was to speak to college students who have been quotes previously on this topic in other publications. You certainly don't want to simply re-quote sources and what they have said in a competing publication. But you can talk to them and see if they tell you something new. As well, ask these sources if they know of anyone who would make for a good source. Someone in a similar situation. Often, people who share a problem will know one another and be willing to talk to a reporter knowing that their "friend" already has.
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