Journalism: Protecting Confidential Sources
Current Research for the MLA LD & PF Debate Topic…

TOPIC: Protecting Confidential Sources (U.S. Journalism)
Resolved: In the United States, reporters ought to have the right to protect the identity of confidential sources.

Background:
“The law governing the relationship between reporters and their sources has become increasingly less clear. This Court has not considered whether journalists have any right not to reveal the identity of confidential sources since Branzburg v. Hayes was decided over 40 years ago….The lower courts have struggled to interpret the conflicting principles of Branzburg…” National Constitution Center, February 27, 2014

The [U.S. Supreme] Court found that requiring reporters to disclose confidential information to grand juries served a \”compelling\” and \”paramount\” state interest and did not violate the First Amendment. Justice White argued that since the case involved no government intervention to impose prior restraint, and no command to publish sources or to disclose them indiscriminately, there was no Constitutional violation. The fact that reporters receive information from sources in confidence does not privilege them to withhold that information during a government investigation; the average citizen is often forced to disclose information received in confidence when summoned to testify in court. Branzburg v. Hayes (Overview): Oyez Legal Website, Last Accessed: September 2018

Why are confidential sources important for reporters? (Tagline: Vital to Obtaining the Truth)
\”Because they\’re the lifeline to the truth or a better version of what goes on. Particularly now, when the government is all about public relations and image and impressions, you have to dig under that, and people inside with knowledge are not going to talk to you if you identify them. You learn your first week as a reporter that the member of the city council will tell you one thing off the record and say something often slightly contradictory on the record, so you want to get to that best obtainable version of the truth. What does the councilman really think? Well, you have to find some way to dig under that and get that person or somebody else to say these are the real facts, not what we want to present to the public to enhance our political position or our product or whatever.\” Bob Woodward, Washington Post, PBS Frontline, Feb. 13, 2007

Magnet Academy Evidence/Arguments Packets:
[-] Outline for Arguments – Protecting Confidential Sources (MLA, 2018-09-30).pdf
[-] LD Evidence – Protecting Confidential Sources (MLA, Final).pdf or DOC
[-] LD Arguments – Protecting Confidential Sources (MLA, Final).pdf or DOC

\”Paid\” Research Packets (Free to Use):
[-] LD Research (Confidential Sources) – Reporter\’s Privilege (Champion Briefs, 2018-08-01).pdf
[-] LD Research (Confidential Sources) – Reporter\’s Privilege (Forensics Files, 2018).pdf
[-] LD Research (Protecting Confidential Sources) – Reporter\’s Privilege (Premier Debate, 2018-09-01).pdf
[-] LD Research (Confidential Sources) – Reporter\’s Privilege (Victory Briefs, 2018-08-01).pdf

Whiteboard Photos (& Outlines):
[-] LD Case Outline (Confidential Sources) – First Three Pages (August 2018).jpg
[-] LD Outline (Reporter\’s Privilege) – AFF & NEG Simple Outline (MLA, 2018-09-01).jpg
[-] LD Outline (Reporter\’s Privilege) – AFF Outline & Evidence Structure TSQFC (MLA, 2018-09-01).jpg
[-] LD Outline (Reporter\’s Privilege) – AFF Simple Outline with Some Rebuttal (MLA, 2018-09-01).jpg
[-] LD Outline (Reporter\’s Privilege) – NEG Case Turns & Alternative (MLA, 2018-09-01).jpg
[-] LD Brainstorm (Reporter\’s Privilege) – AFF Problem or Case Areas (MLA, 2018-09-01).jpg
[-] Outline for Rejoinders and Voting Issues (MLA, 2018-09-11).pdf

Research Videos (Required):

Legal Risks – Maherin Gangat on Reporter’s Privilege and Shield Laws,
Maherin Gangat, Attorney, Media Law Resource Center, March 2014
https://vimeo.com/88362536
Note: Maherin Gangat, staff attorney, Media Law Resource Center – discussing \”shield laws\” and \”reporter\’s privilege\”.

[Video] Can Attorney General Jeff Sessions Legally Demand the Press to Betray Their Sources?
William E. Lee, Newsweek, August 8, 2017
https://www.newsweek.com/can-sessions-legally-demand-press-betray-their-sources-647812
NOTE: Jeff Sessions is currently the Attorney General of the United States of America.

[Video] Jeff Sessions hints Department of Justice could force media to give up sources,
The Independent, August 4, 2017
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-leaks-jeff-sessions-media-give-up-sources-a7877421.html

Reporter\’s Privilege: Interview with Dean Lucy Dalglish,
Prof. Lucy Dalglish, Dean of Journalism, University of Maryland (Isabella Tilley Video), April 17, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91meUTnQ0hw

Research Articles (Required):

[Article] Can [Jeff] Sessions Legally Demand the Press to Betray Their Sources?
William E. Lee, Newsweek, August 8, 2017
https://www.newsweek.com/can-sessions-legally-demand-press-betray-their-sources-647812
NOTE: Jeff Sessions is currently the Attorney General of the United States of America.

[Article] Jeff Sessions hints Department of Justice could force media to give up sources,
The Independent, August 4, 2017
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-leaks-jeff-sessions-media-give-up-sources-a7877421.html

The Reporter\’s Privilege Compendium: An Introduction,
Reporters Comittee for Freedom of the Press, Last Accessed: August 2018
https://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-resources/guides/reporters-privilege/introduction

Research Articles & Videos (Optional):

[DEFINITION] Journalist\’s Privilege Law and Legal Definition,
U.S. Legal (Law Blog), Last Accessed: August 2018
https://definitions.uslegal.com/j/journalists-privilege/

[Video] Champion Briefs: Topic Analysis (Journalism),
Adam Tomasi, Champion Briefs, September 2018
https://youtu.be/yIL0IKt3954  

[Excellent VIDEO] C-SPAN: Debate on Confidentiality of Sources,
C-SPAN, November 8, 2004 (95 mins)
https://www.c-span.org/video/?184309-1/debate-confidentiality-sources
NOTE: A debate was held on the question: “Should the Law Protect Reporters from Having to Disclose Confidential Sources?” Speaking for the affirmative: Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter involved in the Wilson/Plame investigation; Robert Bertsche; and David Rini. Speaking for the negative: former U.S. Attorney Joseph DiGenova; former Deputy Asst. U.S. Attorney General Victoria Toensing; and Nick Barber. The affirmative position was declared the winner by audience vote.

[Excellent VIDEO] Rethinking Reporter\’s Privilege: Anonymous Speech & Journalists\’ Sources,
Duke Law School, September 13, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nONQi1S21Q
NOTE: Dr. RonNell Andersen Jones is Prof. of Law at Brigham Young University Law School (Top Expert).

Newswar: Why Reporters Need Confidential Sources
PBS Frontline, February 13, 2007
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/tags/confidentialsources.html
IMPORTANT: Principles are timeless. So, don\’t worry about the date of the material(s) with regard to philosophical/principled arguments.
Newswar (Films): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/newswar/ (3.5 hours)

Constitution: Do journalists have a right to keep their sources secret?,
National Constitution Center, February 27, 2014
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/constitution-check-do-journalists-have-a-right-to-keep-their-sources-secret
NOTE: Lyle Denniston looks at a rising chance that the Supreme Court might be persuaded to redefine privileges sought by reporters seeking to protect their sources.

Contact Information (Coach Bill):
Bill Eddy,
coachbill@magnetacademy.com
714.655.8135 (I prefer text)
When contacting me, please include your name and class information (day/time). Thanks!

Branzburg v. Hayes (Case Analysis):
Global Freedom of Expression, Columbia University, Last Accessed: August 2018
https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/branzburg-v-hayes/

Georgia woman facing \’longest sentence\’ for leaking to media,
AP News, August 15, 2018
https://www.yahoo.com/news/georgia-woman-facing-longest-sentence-leaking-media-192531639.html

AT: False Information/Lies Being Reported
1. Journalists value their reputation (Resistance = no rush to publish b/c… risk to their reputation)
—So… Info is validated through journalists \”confidential network.\”
—(Journalists can go to their most reliable sources to verify the information)
2. News organizations won’t risk reputation (b/c.. risk of losing revenue)
—a. Loss of Reputation = lose subscribers = lose advertising $ (risks billions)
—b. Lawsuits (Defamation Lawsuits) from Libel and/or Slander
3. Safeguards/Standards in Journalism to Prevent False Information Being Reported
—a. Editor Oversight
—b. Double-Source Verification
—c. Indepependent Fact Checkers

NEG Alternative: Enhanced Whistleblower Protection (status) – we give more protection directly to the sources by strengthening existing laws.

Contention I: Threats to Democracy

S: Granting a “Reporter’s Privilege” will… reduce threats to democracy

E: Because… reporters are currently under attack; severely threatened with tremendous fines and even imprisonment for refusing to reveal the identity of confidential sources, yet without these sources providing the public with essential information – democracy is gravely threatened.

E: For Example…

First… Well-Informed Public Essential to Democracy
S: According to… Dr. Jennifer L. Hochschild, Professor, Harvard University, Election Law Journal, June 2010
https://scholar.harvard.edu/jlhochschild/publications/if-democracies-need-informed-voters-how-can-they-thrive-while-expanding-en
Q: She states…
Three uncontroversial points sum to a paradox: 1) Almost every democratic theorist or democratic political actor sees an informed electorate as essential to good democratic practice. Citizens need to know who or what they are choosing and why – hence urgent calls for expansive and publicly funded education, and rights to free speech, assembly, press, and movement.  2) In most if not all democratic polities, the proportion of the population granted the suffrage has consistently expanded and seldom contracted, over the past two centuries.  Most observers and I agree that expanding enfranchisement makes a state more democratic. 3) Most expansions of the suffrage bring in, on average, people who are less politically informed or less broadly educated than those already eligible to vote.
F: What the author is telling us… nearly every democratic theorist believes that a well-informed public is essential to a healthy democracy; citizens need to know who to vote for and/or why.
C: This means… without quality information, democracy is destroyed. JUSTICE is denied to hundreds of millions of people who are denied access to the truth about what their leaders are doing.

Also… Without “Reporter’s Privilege” Democracy is Destroyed
S: According to… Dr. Christina Koningisor, First Amendment Fellow for the New York Times, Yale Law Journal, March 2018
https://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/the-de-facto-reporters-privilege
Q: She states…
For decades, both those in favor of a formal federal reporter’s privilege and those opposed to it have marshaled historical arguments.Proponents point to the imprisonment of reporters in the past and argue that a privilege will ensure that confidential sources continue to provide the press—and ultimately, the public—with information. Opponents argue that the press has long flourished without a federal source of protection and that there is no indication that this flow of information will be constricted in the future.
F: What the author is telling us…  reporter\’s privilege plays a vital role in our society in that it will encourage confidential informants to continuously inform the press and the public.
C: This means… without reporter’s privilege JUSTICE is denied to thousands of reporters who are being threatened with imprisonment, yet JUSTICE is greatly enhanced for the tens of millions of people who are better informed by journalists and their network of confidential sources.

I: Imagine the following impacts… JUSTICE is denied to thousands of journalists who are being threatened by the government, hundreds of millions of people suffer when the Freedom of the Press is diminished – making our democracy vulnerable and at risk of being destroyed.

T: Therefore… granting a “Reporter’s Privilege” will… reduce threats to democracy.

The Problems with the Reporter\’s Privilege
Eliason D. Eliason , American University Law Review, June 2008
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1044&context=aulr