Andrew Alexander writes:

Last month, a story about conflicts between parents and childless adults began with an anecdote about an unleashed puppy pestering a toddler in a District park. After the child’s father complained, the dog’s owner told The Post that parents of children can be “tyrants” and she urged them to keep their kids inside the park’s fenced-in play area. “I think children are fine,” she was quoted as saying, but “I don’t think they own everything.”
For this, The Post identified the woman only as Linda, a veteran journalist, “because she didn’t want to be seen as hostile to children.”
The Post’s internal policies set a high threshold for granting anonymity. It “should not be done casually or automatically.” Further, “merely asking should not be sufficient to become anonymous in our stories.” If sources refuse to go on the record, “the reporter should consider seeking the information elsewhere.”
But too often it seems The Post grants anonymity at the drop of a hat.

Well, duh. The rest here.