ON April 20, Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter may win his second Pulitzer Prize. The next day, he may head to jail.
Ashenfelter, 60, is the latest reporter to face prison for refusing to reveal his confidential sources — in this case, for a story he wrote in 2004 about alleged misconduct by a prosecutor in a terrorism case in Detroit soon after 9/11.
Jail time became a real possibility when US District Judge Robert Cleland recently refused to delay Ashenfelter’s deposition about his sources or let him take his case to an appeals court.
…Last Tuesday, the House overwhelmingly approved legislation by voice vote that would protect such reporters. Sponsored by Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), the “Free Flow of Information Act” would enable reporters in many instances to refuse to identify those who provided news of public importance. The House handily passed an almost identical measure last year, but it was stymied in the Senate, partly because former President George Bush had threatened a veto.
This is some fucked up shit. Douchebaggery if you will. A reporter and his source share a privileged relationship – like a doctor and his patient or a lawyer and his client. Therefore, a reporter should not be obligated to reveal sources under no circumstances unless someones life is in danger. In this case its not.
I would not name my sources and I hope Ashenfelter sticks it out.
What would you do?
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i see ur point. but what if the sources are not credible? or what if the reporter distorts the information? who is liable for that? i can only agree if it deals with a life or death situation, otherwise i want to know where they get their facts.
and i see your point but reporters/journalists are bound by ethics and you can’t lie about such serious things. they have proof of what they write – they just can’t reveal who it is who told them. like watergate. reporters who lie will be found out because the reputation of the publication is at stake and im certain they go through great lengths to fact check everything. especially when its cases like this. also, its possible for fact-based articles to be unbiased.