JournoLeaks: The public's right to know

Allison Gens

ag564012@ohio.edu

image: The Guardian

One purpose of journalism is to serve the public and tell them what is important. Many times stories cover topics of public concern. But when it comes down to revealing secret government information, determining why to do those stories may be because of public’s right to know.

A little history lesson

image: visitthecapitol.gov

We have all heard of the Pentagon Papers, the Snowden NSA documents and WikiLeaks’ Afghan War Diary, but rarely do we discuss how government information has been leaked to journalists all throughout history.

In a list by Time (called Top 10 Leaks), it is revealed that one of the biggest leaks in U.S. history dates back to 1848. In this year, the Treaty of Guadalupe, a document that would end the Mexican-American War, as leaked to John Nugent, a reporter with the New York Herald. When the Senate found out, they questioned the reporter, but he refused to disclose his source. Nugent was then placed on house arrest in the Capitol building for a month.

The list details more famous leaks from Watergate’s “Deep Throat” to Sarah Palin’s emails. And one trend found in most of these cases is that the “leaker” and/or the journalist faced some sort of punishment for releasing the information.

So what does this mean for journalists?

So with all we know about the negative consequences journalists face, how far should we take the meaning of “the public’s right to know”?

Well first, it is best to clarify what exactly that statement includes (and it is actually very limited). According to a page from the University of Iowa, the public’s right to know applies to our right to access information about the government through, for example, public records, open meetings, most court transcripts and most police records. Just these few examples reveal that the public’s right to know does not legally extend to classified government information.

So what should journalists do?

The easiest way to try and determine this may be with the codes of ethics set by professional journalist societies, there is a noticeable trend to serve the public’s interest.

In the SPJ ethics code it states, “Journalists should recognize a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government. Seek to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open, and that public records are open to all.”

The RTDNA code has a similar statement, “Professional electronic journalists should fight to ensure that the public's business is conducted in public.”

A journalist should serve the public and keep an eye on government business. And as the code states, journalists should make sure public records stay public records. However it becomes a sticky situation when revealing information that should have never been discovered.

In the case of the Afghan War Diary, it can be argued Manning and the journalist who published the information was trying to “serve as watchdogs over public affairs and the government.”

Another point in the SPJ code states, “Journalists should recognize that legal access to information differs from an ethical justification to publish or broadcast.”

This statement here makes the decision that much harder. The journalist must then decide what route would cause the least amount of harm (but not as in the least amount of harm to the journalist).

Some questions to consider:

If in an ethical dilemma of deciding when to publish secret, private or classified information, a journalist should consider questions like:

Does the information have a significant impact on the audience? Is it truly important for them to know?

Am I publishing the story to benefit myself or my publication? Or is it being published to serve the public?

If I was the one the information is about, how would I feel if it was released to the public?

And remember...

In the end, the route to take when determining when to share the leaks is not set in stone. Journalists throughout history have faced punishment from sharing information they thought the public needed to know. Each situation is different, but one thing to always remember: a journalist’s purpose is tell the information the public cannot find out themselves.