Source Cred?

This week in class we’ve been discussing sources, which prompted me to take a closer look at one of the latest celebrity scandals and the sources that seem to be coming forward with new, controversial information. I’m talking about the surfacing of Robert Kardashian’s journals. Heard of it?

If you haven’t, I’ll give you the quick details. More information and a full In Touch Weekly article can be found, here.

The journals, dated throughout 1989 to 1990 were given to In Touch by Kardashian’s widow Ellen Kardashian just recently, the magazine reported. And they reportedly paint a very terrifying picture of life in the Kardashian’s house at this time in their lives; abuse and heartache pour from the pages of the late lawyer’s personal journals.

The journals allegedly describe Kris Kardashian as an abusive mother, physically beating her daughter Kim and also go into detail about Kris’s extramarital affairs.

Kim and her family, however, are fightingback against the claims, saying that they are untrue. Kim’s been fighting back via Twitter, primarily. Her Twitter can be found, here. 

Her retaliation via Twitter:

“10 yrs since dad passed &this woman he married 4 2 wks before he died needs 2 get a job instead of trying 2 destroy families w fake stories”

“So my dad's ex is selling ridiculous stories again to tabloids! Do not believe it! Sad when people need $ & get desperate.”

“PS that story that my mom beat me & threatened to kill me hahahhahaha! I'd beat her! JK truly laughable! #NOTTRUE”

Noteably, Kim calls Ellen out on the fact that Ellen and her father were together briefly before his death, prompting many to believe this is all just a means of getting attention by Ellen. 

So, this whole issue of sources. Ellen Kardashian and In Touch are claiming one thing, while the rest of the Kardashians deny, deny, deny. What can we trust? Who’s the more credible source? With the journal entries not in public view, one may conclude that Ellen is lying, creating a publicity stunt with her as the center. However, in the heat of her own personal scandals aside from this recent issue, Kris may have her family behind her denying the claims whether or not they are true. Families tend to stick together, you know.

What would either party gain from lying?

As a journalist or even just as a media consumer, you have to be able to take these things with a grain of salt and until further investigation into the journals and the claims within them, we can’t really know. But there is a lot to say about source reliability.