In his front-page profile of movie industry blogger Nikki Finke, New York Times media reporter David Carr (7/17/09) can't resist a self-congratulatory dig: "Her liabilities in the world of print--a penchant for innuendo and unnamed sources--became assets online."

Those familiar with the print media world may recall that unnamed sources are not exactly unknown there. To find an example, I didn't have to go farther than the first half of Carr's own article, where he has a paragraph full of anonymous attacks on Finke:

"I'd prefer not to ever deal with her," said a senior communications executive at a studio who declined to be identified. Many others declined comment saying, variously, "she gave me a nervous breakdown," "she terrifies me," and "there's no percentage in me saying anything to you about Nikki no matter what it is."

Hmm, anonymous sources suggesting dire things about a subject without providing any specifics--in other words, innuendo. Are these liabilities in Carr's print-media world...or assets?