On Deep Background

There's a new blogger out there, Deep Background, who's creating a bit of a stir because he's offering his insights as a government PR professional, but doing so anonymously. A couple of thoughts on this tempest in a very small teapot:

• The reason Deep Background gives for insisting on anonymity when he started the blog is a little bizarre: "I did not want to be approached by producers of political talk shows asking me to come on their show as a government pr expert." If that's the issue, here's a solution: Just say no. No law says you have to appear on talk shows. I could see insisting on anonymity if you feared for your job, but Deep Background says he doesn't. Not wanting to be inconvenienced isn't a compelling reason for hiding behind a veil.
• This is yet another reminder that it's the people within government itself who are mainly responsible for the media's reliance on anonymous sources. Trust me, folks, most journalists don't get our kicks out of running unattributed quotes from shadowy figures. We end up doing it because so many people--even, in this case, people who are paid to speak about what their agencies are doing--insist that they won't talk unless they're not identified. In fact, not only will Deep Background not say who he is, he kicked off his blog with a post encouraging government PR people to go off the record.