Phillymag Heavy On Anonymous Sources In Rittenhouse Story

Phillymag’s recent piece on opposition to a proposed mural near Rittenhouse Square is a tale of old vs. new money, elitism and a lot of rich people. As with other similar matters of national security, many sources wished to remain anonymous. As such, we have an awesome list of anonymous or nonspecific references:

• “one longtime resident of the Barclay” (later referenced as: “the opponent.”)
• “some” (as in: “some have labeled [Wendy Rosen] a social climber.”)
• “a lawyer who doesn’t live on the Square”
• “A number of people” (as in: “A number of people, either intimately involved in the mural fight or observing it with some remove”)
• “a small group of neighbors several years earlier”
• “the neighbors”
• “one Square resident”
• People who Jane Golden won’t name (later referenced as: “the callers”)
• “opponents at the meeting”
• “a few people”

A meeting about the mural at the Ethical Society descended into a shouting match, showing that upper crust Philadelphians are pretty much just like everyone else in this city. Phillymag set the scene nicely for the blowup:

“Our road to happiness,” says the society’s website, “is one of honest involvement with those around us.”

But as it turned out, this particular road was not headed toward happiness.

All stories should have Hard Copy-style transitions like this one. “‘Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth,’ Lou Gehrig said. But as it turns out, he was actually very sick with a rare disease.

Brawl on the Square [Phillymag]