UNESCO has commissioned The World Editors Forum to conduct a study to find out whether it is possible to keep journalists’ sources confidential in the digital age.
UNESCO has commissioned The World Editors Forum to conduct a study to find out whether it is possible to keep journalists’ sources confidential in the digital age.
If this confidentiality cannot be assured, whistle blowers will fear contacting journalists, said a media statement by the editors forum, the organisation within the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) for editors and senior newsroom personnel.
Guy Berger, UNESCO’s Director of Freedom of Expression and Media Development, told the World Editors Forum earlier this year that questions about confidentiality could result in fewer people willing to speak to journalists about the corruption and abuse they come across.
Everyone will be information poorer and societies will suffer, the former head of the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media said.
“No action can be taken on problems that remain hidden. This is why many countries have laws which shield journalists from having to reveal their sources," the statement quoted Berger as saying. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep information confidential in the digital age.
The study will look at laws that exist to support journalists’ ethical obligation to protect their sources and to whom these laws apply; how existing legislation is being adapted to digital realities; and the consequences of this shifting landscape on investigative journalism.
The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
