To Use or Not To Use... An Anonymous Source

I find it interesting timing that an Associated Press story that just ran in today's Globe deals with a current legal argument surrounding the protection of anonymous sources. It is a topic that has been on my mind of late, and something, I think, that most reporters will have to deal with at some point in their careers.

This is a topic of interest to me both as a current journalism student and as a future law student. In fact, I recently wrote a research paper for my Journalism Ethics and Issues class about the legal and ethical issues regarding the use of anonymous sources. I tried to focus specifically on the CIA leak/Valerie Plame/Robert Novak/Judith Miller situation (primarily because it is the most talked about case, therefore the case with the most researchable material), but there have been a string of similar cases across the country.

Jim Taricani was placed under house arrest for refusing to reveal his source after broadcasting a leaked videotape showing a Providence, R.I. official accepting a bribe. Journalists at the San Francisco Chronicle came under attack after reporting leaked grand jury testimony in the BALCO steroid investigation. Five reporters were found to be in contempt of court when they refused to name their sources on Wen Ho Less, suspected of passing nuclear secrets to the Chinese.

Now reporter Toni Locy, formerly of USA Today, is facing extensive fines and potential jail time for refusing to identify her sources from stories in 2001 about a scientist who was, at the time, a leading suspect in the anthrax attacks in Washington, D.C. Locy is appealing a ruling that sentenced her to fines of up to $5,000 per day, which she must pay personally. She may also face time in prison if she continues to withhold her sources beyond an April 3 deadline.

Because Locy says she cannot remember which specific sources she used for the articles, but does remember about a dozen confidential sources from the FBI and the Justice Department, the judge ordered her to reveal all of them. Locy has the support of 29 news organizations, but at this time, certainly not the support of the courts.

Now, I could go on about this protecting sources (the 3,000 word paper is evidence), but I think it essentially boils down to a few key points:

• Anonymous/confidential sources are an extremely valuable tool for reporting on stories that serve the public interest, when a source is reluctant because he or she could lose a job or face other threats.
  
• The media has become too cavalier about using these sources; reporters should never offer confidentiality just because they think a person's position "requires" it.
  
• Reporters and media organizations must fight at all costs to preserve a source's confidentiality until the source absolves the agreement.
• The only time a source should be "outed," regardless of his or her motive, is if there is an obvious, imminent risk to an individual or the public at large.
  

You may agree. You may not. But this is a volatile time for the media. Dropping circulation is forcing staff cuts; people are turning to the Internet and blogs for news; and the media's traditional role as the protector of democratic ideas is in jeopardy in the courts and the public eye.

Clay Calvert, a professor at Pennsylvania State University specializing in first amendment law, summed up the problem the media faces in "Victories for Privacy and Losses for Journalism? Five Privacy Controversies from 2004 and Their Policy Implications for the Future of Reportage" in the Journal of Law and Policy:

For the news media, the preponderance of judicial opinions... in 2004 may reflect... a growing belief among the public that, as compared to... years past, modern "journalists are sloppier, less professional, less moral, less caring, more biased, less honest about their mistakes, and generally more harmful to democracy.

This is obviously not a view that can continue if the media are to maintain their place in society. And a careful approach to anonymous sources is just one part of the battle.

If you're interested in the topic, the articles below contain some interesting information and perspectives:

• "Attack At The Source," by Douglas McCollam (Columbia Journalism Review)
• "Fighting Like Tigers," by Jessica Myers (American Journalism Review)
• "Kind of Confidential," by Lori Robertson (American Journalism Review)
• "The Journalist and the Whistle-Blower," by Geneva Overholser (New York Times)
• "Uncharted Terrain," by Rachel Smolkin (American Journalism Review)
• "Under Fire," by Rachel Smolkin (American Journalism Review)