Up for audit: 'Checkbook journalism' and the news groups that buy big stories

At first it was only supermarket tabloids like the National Enquirer that did it. While the "respectable" media shunned the practice, the Enquirer developed a long and proud tradition of "checkbook journalism," paying sources for such sensational exclusives as a photo of Elvis Presley in his coffin or "revelations" about Donald Trump by his ex-housekeeper.

But thanks to heightened competition for the next big "get," journalism's Thou-Shalt-Not-Pay commandment has lately been taking a beating.

News and gossip sites that paid for information have broken some of the biggest and most sensational recent stories. TV news divisions have joined in, spurring an arms race to buy big stories. Mainstream news organizations have long been reluctant to pay for information for a few simple reasons. One is practical: Paying for stories can get expensive. The other, more important consideration is the perception that paying sources poisons the credibility of both the source and the news organization.

"When you pay for a story, you're making a contract with the person who supplies it and that means you're no longer acting independently," says Hagit Limor, the president of the Society of Professional Journalists, which prohibits the practice in its code of ethics. "People will say anything in pursuit of money. The public should assume you're reporting something because it's true, not because someone received money to say it."