Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is an American "fact tank" based in Washington, D.C. that provides information and data on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. It was established in 2004 as a nonpartisan subsidiary of Pew Charitable Trusts.
The group's Journalism.org site focuses research on public opinion and issues within news media. It's research is often cited in media bias research done by AllSides, including the 2014 Where News Audiences Fit on the Political Spectrum study.
Sources: Pew Research and Wikipedia
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In recent years there has been renewed interest in the debate over journalists’ use of anonymous sources, and this has included criticism directly from President Donald Trump. Survey data from earlier this year shows that most Americans see a place for journalists to use anonymous sources, but few think journalists should have carte blanche to use them when reporting the news.
A majority of U.S. adults (82%) say that there are times when it is acceptable for journalists to use anonymous sources, with 67% saying it is acceptable only in special cases – a view which echoes the standards of professional journalism organizations that say journalists should take every step to attribute information to a named source when possible before relying on an anonymous source. A much smaller share – 15% – thinks use of anonymous sources is always acceptable. About two-in-ten Americans (18%) think it is never acceptable.