September 27, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Bob Steele, a professor of journalism ethics at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., hasn’t read The Rogue but says books of the genre are 'quasi-journalistic and should have high standards,' " writes Bella English in the Boston Globe. "Confidential sources, he says, should be used 'very thoughtfully, very carefully and, ideally, rarely.' "
The story examines the controversy over the new book, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin. Authored by Joe McGinniss, the work " portrays Palin as vindictive and hypocritical, a narcissist who was clueless about her jobs as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, and then governor of the state, a religious nut and a lousy mother stuck in a lousy marriage." McGinniss, notes English, has been busy "defending himself against charges that he relied too heavily on unnamed sources and that the book was unfair to Palin."
Dr. Steele, Phyllis W. Nicholas Director of DePauw University's Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics and Distinguished Professor of Journalism Ethics, tells the newspaper, "No matter what one thinks about Sarah Palin, there is a reputational trail that is connected to what Joe McGinniss or anybody else writes. McGinniss has an obligation to be fair in both his methods and the content of what he writes." 
You'll find the complete article at the Globe's website (a subscription may be required to access the story).
A 1969 graduate of DePauw, Robert M. Steele is one of America's leading experts on media ethics. He is quoted in the September 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine and was cited in a recent Fox Business report on coverage of Bernard Madoff.