Question

Deo is working on a paper for his journalism class. His thesis is that newspaper reporters should not have to reveal their sources in court. He found journalist Earl Caldwell's story. In 1972, he was sued by the U.S. government for not giving up his sources. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Caldwell. Deo also found an article on an anonymous journalist's Web site that says in other countries like the People's Republic of China the government decides what journalists can write. This person has to keep his or her identity a secret to avoid getting in trouble with the Chinese government.

How can he decide which source is more credible?
A.
The article is more credible because it is written by a journalist who has revealed his or her sources.
B.
The article about China is more credible because it includes a spotlight on international journalism.
C.
Earl Caldwell's story is more credible because Supreme Court rulings can be easily verified.
D.
Earl Caldwell's story is more credible because it agrees with Deo's thesis on revealing sources.

Answer 1

C.

Earl Caldwell's story is more credible because Supreme Court rulings can be easily verified.

Step-by-step explanation:

Although the journalist's article about China may be true, this person is still an anonymous source. The story about Earl Caldwell is easy to prove because Supreme Court cases are public record.

Answer 2

C. Earl Caldwell's story is more credible because Supreme Court rulings can be easily verified.

This is the way he can decide which source is more credible. The Supreme Court rulings are public record and are easily verified as true. An anonymous journalist's web site may be true but the information would be harder to verify as the Chinese government probably does not make it easily known that they censor their journalists. Option A is not true because even if the journalist has revealed the sources, we don't know if the sources are credible. Option D is not a good reason to believe any source as true.