Open Source Intel

Those who came here from my Online Journalism Review article or National Public Radio interview may find this DoubleQuotes entry of particular relevance.

Intelligence agencies like CIA and NSA have been using Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and tracking the news media, for a long time, but it's still impressive to see a NSC aide conceding that journalists are often not just useful sources for the agencies, but are often quicker to the mark than their analytical colleagues with security clearances…

Seeing that the news media are now actually pitching themselves as OSINT sources – as in the garish black and yellow advertisement from the Herald Tribune which I ran across on the web a couple of days ago -- just points up the significance of OSINT and its relationship to journalism even more...