The recent New Yorker story on the plan to kill Osama bin Laden has drawn some criticism because the reporter never talked to any of the Navy SEALS who invaded the Pakistan compound and killed the Al-Qaeda leader.

The narrative technique has spurred journalistic debate about the authenticity of the account and presentation, in particular its vague attribution. One concern, not shared by all in the craft, was that the piece did not sufficiently explain to readers that the SEALS themselves were not interviewed, even though the piece said it was depending on their "recollections."

Poynter's Mallary Jean Tenore has weighed in with an article featuring narrative and ethics leaders examining the method and delivery of the story. While all believe the story was important and well-told, some indicate the standard of the piece could have been improved with some transparency. Others concluded that the piece has broadened the territory for narrative journalism.

Dan Conover's Xark blog is among the most interesting on the evolution of media, and his latest writing is on the recent debate about shifting from a journalistic model of objectivity to one of transparency.

In the FAQ-style post, he notes that people don't accept the notion of objectivity and that, besides, it hasn't worked at informing or educating all that well. A transparent model might make smaller claims to credibility, but would be on firmer and more authoritative ground, he argues.

In this new model, he suggests individuals or organizations make accessible information about their influences. They might be political or economic or social, and they might even include attitudes or a personal manifesto.

Which does not mean a writer gets to inject opinion, Conover says. Rather, the transparency about influences helps bolster credibility of the writer to let the audience know about that writer's authority.

He also argues for greater transparency in decision-making overall, including transparency about editorial choices for the public to see. While it might require transitional stress to get to the new model, he concludes it yields a superior result.

What do you think?