Journalism Research and Random Meanderings

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Apple Wants Confidential Sources ID'ed  

This story makes me wonder what goes on in the minds of those who were in the meeting where they decided to go ahead with this. Apple (as do many high-tech companies) depend on their symbiotic relationship with the media to get the word out about their products.

EFF Asks Court to Protect Online Journalists

"February 14, 2005 - Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked a California Superior Court for a protective order that would prevent Apple Computer from forcing three online journalists to identify their confidential sources and hand over unpublished materials."

Apple v. Does <<
"In December 2004, Apple filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara county against unnamed individuals who allegedly leaked information about new Apple products to several online news sites, including AppleInsider and PowerPage. The articles at issue concerned a FireWire audio interface for GarageBand, codenamed "Asteroid" or "Q7." In addition, Apple filed a separate trade secret suit against Think Secret on January 4, 2004.

Apple is seeking information from these news sites regarding the identities of the sites' sources, and has subpoenaed Nfox.com, the email service provider for PowerPage, for email messages that may identify the confidential source.

EFF opposes Apple's discovery because the confidentiality of the media's sources and unpublished information are critical means for journalists of all stripes to acquire information and communicate it to the public. Because today's online journalists frequently depend on confidential sources to gather material, their ability to promise confidentiality is essential to maintaining the strength of independent media. Furthermore, the protections required by the First Amendment are necessary regardless of whether the journalist uses a third party for communications."

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For the non-journalist reader: IF journalists (on or off line) can't protect their sources then nobody comes forward to blow the whistle. Sometimes the only way some people will comment for the record is anonymously because they are afraid for their jobs and, sometimes, even their lives.

Consider Watergate, reporters Woodward and Bernstein who broke the story that eventually brought down U.S. President Nixon promised they would protect Deep Throat's identity until DT died. This recently became relevant again because apparently Deep Throat (who would be fairly old by now) is sick.

This CBS News story New Buzz About 'Deep Throat' ID says "Ben Bradlee, the former executive editor of The Washington Post and one of the few people who knows the source's identity, has reportedly acknowledged that he has written Deep Throat's obituary."