Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

Truth and the unnamed source

Carney, Damian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7892-054X 2012. Truth and the unnamed source. Journal of Media Law 4 (1) , pp. 117-145. 10.5235/175776312802483925

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Many writers on the topic of the ‘reporter’s privilege’ (ie where journalists claim the right not to reveal the identity of sources left unnamed in their articles) have portrayed the issue as simply a conflict between press freedom, and the right of courts to hear everyman’s testimony. So when a cause célèbre occurs in which the identity of an unnamed source is sought (such as the Canadian case of R v National Post and Financial Times v United Kingdom (the ‘Interbrew case’) which are featured in this article) there is a tendency amongst the press to circle their wagons and defend the threatened journalist, arguing that the ‘reporter’s privilege’ is an absolute and primary tenet of journalistic codes of ethics.4 This is not only unconvincing but, as this paper will show, wrong. It fails to appreciate the potential conflict that adherence to protection of anonymous sources has with a principle which seems even more fundamental and is a universal value in media codes of ethics and conduct—namely, the need to report the truth.

Item Type: Article
Status: Published
Schools: Journalism, Media and Culture
Subjects: K Law > KD England and Wales
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Last Modified: 01 Nov 2022 10:32
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/91962

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item