Thursday, July 27, 2023

Is Confidentiality Permanent? (Reporter's Notebook)

Recently, the issue of what to do with the files of an aging journalist going into a full-time care facility came up — should they be donated to a university library or similar institution? 

As that question was being debated among friends of the journalist, one raised a related, far thornier question to me on the side: 

How could we collectively protect the identity of the journalist’s confidential sources once the files became publicly available? This journalist had specialized in highly controversial stories and had relied on confidential sources extensively.

After all, the promise of confidentiality in such cases is theoretically permanent, or at least as long as disclosure could cause harm to the sources or their families.

Some journalists say that once a confidential source passes away, the promise no longer applies so they can disclose the identity. But what about the case when it’s the journalist who dies first or becomes incapacitated?

Disclosing their sources’ identities might still cause harm.

Throughout my career, I frequently dealt with confidential sources, my own or those of reporters that worked with or for me. We followed strict protocols for how we used confidential information, including taking measures to protect the identities of the sources.

But rarely did we consider the long-term implications. The recent case described above caused me to re-examine the issue and I have to say I don’t yet have a definitive answer.

This is simply a use case that slipped through the cracks, I’m afraid. Which is another way of saying I’m open to suggestions.

But of one thing I’m sure. Expunging all of your records of any traces of your confidential sources is an option. It’s just that that too might have unforeseen consequences.

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