History Main / TheInformant

->'''Louie:''' You heard the boss. Find the rat.
->'''Johnny Tightlips:''' I found the rat and he's right here.
->'''Frankie the Squealer:''' I ain't the rat! I'm the [[TheStoolPigeon pigeon]]!
->'''Legs:''' I thought you was [[TheMole the mole]].
->'''Johnny Tightlips:''' No, you're thinking of that guy who was [[RedShirt the canary]]. But we can all agree. We work in a business with a very rich lexicon.
->'''Mobsters:''' Rich lexicon. Yes, very rich.
-->--''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "The Seven-Beer Snitch"

This is the character in [[CopShow Cop Shows]], [[DetectiveDrama Detective Dramas]], and Espionage Thrillers that everyone despises. Even the cops who make use of his services hate him. He is beneath the level of more dignified, "honest" crooks. He is a low level version of the KnowledgeBroker; perhaps even the minion of one. But where a KnowledgeBroker is high status and has an arbitrarily greater reputation, this character is just a stoolie. (This difference is sort of like the difference between a courtesan and a street-walker... they are both prostitutes, but one is considered "high class".)

The Informant lives in a miserable fashion selling information. But he is needed so he is tolerated. Sometimes a sort of patronizing affection is granted him. In such a case he is likely to be a LovableCoward as well as a LovableTraitor . Probably there are those who will not find him lovable...

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!!Examples

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In the MarvelUniverse, Turk, a petty street criminal, often has this role in several different titles. Many of the heroes (notably {{Daredevil}}, ThePunisher and {{Spider Man}}) seem to use "I need information; I think I'll go beat on Turk until he sqeals" as a standard operating procedure, although this has varied DependingOnTheWriter.

[[folder:Film]]
* Juan Martinez in ''RunningScared''. He's a second generation stoolie.

[[folder:Literature]]

* [[spoiler:David]] in ChinaMieville's ''PerdidoStreetStation'' sells out Isaac to the militia as part of his work as a paid informant.
* In {{Discworld}}, Lord Vetinari gets intel from the city's beggars, mostly by way of unfounded rumors that he pays for information. And the City Watch under Commander Vimes gets information from similar sources, as well as some of the pettier of petty criminals, who have an almost jocular relationship with the lawmen.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In ''MiamiVice'', Crockett and Tubbs regularly called upon Izzy "The Snitch" Moreno and Neville "Noogie" Lamont to get information on whatever big plot was going down. The two cops treated the latter like some unpleasant form of fungus, while the former was treated like a favored pet.
* InPlainSight, by its very nature, often deals with Informants who are now on the run from their former employers.
* While very few of the Informants were ever actually ''shown'', the detectives on LawAndOrder often had regular informants they relied on. Detective Rey Curtis often referred to an entire network of confidential informants he had from his days as a vice cop.

* Bubbles was a frequent informant on [[TheWire The Wire]].

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Ziggy in the adventure game ''[[LauraBow TheDagger of Amon Rah]]''. Unfortunately, his dangerous career got the better of him in the end.
* Ugarte in ''QuestForGlory II'' and ''V''.
* The second ''{{Timesplitters}}'' game has a Prohibition-Era level where you have to protect a snitch.

* ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'': Zimbo, see TheStoolPigeon.

* Alexei in {{JAG}} a LovableRogue that works for "the highest bidder", but develops a crush on Mac(doesn't everyone?}.

* Alexei in {{Jag}} a LovableRogue that works for "the highest bidder", but develops a crush on Mac(doesn't everyone?}.

* ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'': Zimbo, see ''TheStoolPigeon''.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' TOS episode ''Terror Island'', Race Bannon's "old friend" Jade questions an unnamed informant, who pulls the old "more money might help me remember" trick until Jade gets tired of him and pulls a gun.

-->'''Fat Tony:''' Gentlemen, we must determine which of our fellow inmates has become the ''rodentis incarcenarium''.
-->'''Louie:''' You heard the boss. Find the rat.
-->'''Johnny Tightlips:''' I found the rat and he's right here.
-->'''Frankie the Squealer:''' I ain't the rat! I'm the [[TheStoolPigeon pigeon]]!
-->'''Legs:''' I thought you was [[TheMole the mole]].
-->'''Johnny Tightlips:''' No, you're thinking of that guy who was [[RedShirt the canary]]. But we can all agree. We work in a business with a very rich lexicon.
-->'''Mobsters:''' Rich lexicon. Yes, very rich.
-->- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "The Seven-Beer Snitch"

-->- ''TheSimpsons'', "The Seven-Beer Snitch"

* AaahhRealMonsters: Zimbo, see ''TheStoolPigeon''.
* In the ''JohnnyQuest'' TOS episode ''Terror Island'', Race Bannon's "old friend" Jade questions an unnamed informant, who pulls the old "more money might help me remember" trick until Jade gets tired of him and pulls a gun.

* In GuyRitchie movie ''RockNRolla'', the London underworld is puzzled by he identity of an informant whose testimony has been putting away multiple well connected gangsters. At the very end f the film [[spoiler:it's revealed to be TheDon himself, [[LondonGangster Lenny]. Lenny's men quickly and ruthlessly turn on him, especially since some of them, including TheDragon have gone to prison based on that testimony]].

* [[{{Discworld}} Lord Vetinari]] gets intel from the city's beggars, mostly by way of unfounded rumors that he pays for information. And the City Watch under Commander Vimes gets information from similar sources, as well as some of the pettier of petty criminals, who have an almost jocular relationship with the lawmen.

-->'''Frankie the Squealer:''' I ain't the rat! I'm the pigeon!

-->'''Frankie the Squealer:''' I ain't the rat! I'm the [[StoolPigeon pigeon]]!

A subtrope of KnowledgeBroker. MysteriousInformant is a SisterTrope to, and StoolPigeon is a SubTrope of, TheInformant.

* [[spoiler:David]] in ChinaMieville's ''PerdidoStreetStation sells out Isaac to the militia as part of his work as a paid informant.

* Nick the Nose from Donald Sobel's ''Two Minute Mysteries'' series.

-->'''Frankie the Squealer:''' I ain't the rat! I'm the pigeon!

A subtrope of KnowledgeBroker. MysteriousInformant is a SisterTrope of this. Not to be confused with 2009 Matt Damon film ''Film/TheInformant!'', which is actually about a [[TheStoolPigeon Stool Pigeon]], kind of.

A subtrope of KnowledgeBroker. MysteriousInformant is a SisterTrope of this.

This is the character in [[CopShow Cop Shows]], [[DetectiveDrama DetectiveDramas]], and Espionage Thrillers that everyone despises. Even the cops who make use of his services hate him. He is beneath the level of more dignified, "honest" crooks. He is a low level version of the KnowledgeBroker; perhaps even the minion of one. But where a KnowledgeBroker is high status and has an arbitrarily greater reputation, this character is just a stoolie. (This difference is sort of like the difference between a courtesan and a street-walker... they are both prostitutes, but one is considered "high class".)

* The MattDamon movie [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/TheInformant The Informant]] features this too, based on a true story about a corporate man turned FBI informant.

* Clarence Darlington in ''LakeviewTerrace'' is a small time drug dealer and DirtyCop Abel Turner's informant.

[[AC:{{Comic Books}}]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]

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[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]

* In the ''JonnyQuest'' TOS episode ''Terror Island'', Race Bannon's "old friend" Jade questions an unnamed informant, who pulls the old "more money might help me remember" trick until Jade gets tired of him and pulls a gun.

-->'''Legs:''' I thought you was the mole.
-->'''Johnny Tightlips:''' No, you're thinking of that guy who was the canary. But we can all agree. We work in a business with a very rich lexicon.