Public opinion of the news media has shown that the public not only distrusts the media but also believes that the media is biased. In the 2016 Pew Research survey, there was nearly 75% of the population viewed the media as being biased towards one political party or the other. (Mitchell, et al. 10). This is a strong force of people that believe that there is a hidden agenda amongst the media, which is driving the mistrust of the public. While this is the case, many still believe that sources should remain confidential. The bias in addition to confidential sources frequently popping up in the media has resulted in the population learning to take the portrayal of events with a proverbial grain of salt. The effect of this mentality could be
…show more content…
Journalist often argue that their source would be put into great personal harm if their identity were to be disclosed. In this case, are they not already putting themselves in danger by bringing their topic to a journalist. There will always be a risk attached to anything a person does, and this risk does not out way the need for the media to provide professional sources, with credibility, when proffering evidence or backing to the claim being perpetuated within the media. Laura Handman argues; that maintaining source confidentiality is a “duty” that journalists have, and that the population should also support this endeavor as the sources would be putting themselves at risk in order to proclaim their information (Protection of Confidential Sources). This view point is intriguing as it shows a thought process behind those that are pro-source confidentiality. While this view point is illuminating, there is still the issue of credibility. The nation has passed the days in which people were able to take everything at face value, instead the population has become callous and distrusting of the information being published by media outlets. As a result, the media has the necessary obligation to be more transparent so as to enable the population to believe what is published by the agency. The media frequently calls of political transparency …show more content…
“Protection of Confidential Sources: A Moral, Legal, and Civic Duty”. Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, Feb. 2014, scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi
Folkenflik, David. “Q: Could U.S. Prosecute Reporters For Classified Scoops? A: Maybe.” NPR, NPR, 22 Mar. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/22/521009791.
Mitchell, Amy, et al. “3. Loyalty and Source Attention.” Pew Research Center's Journalism Project, Pew Research Center, 7 July 2016, www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/loyalty-and-source-attention/.
Patching, Roger, and Martin Hirst. Journalism Ethics Arguments and Cases for the Twenty-First Century. Routledge, 2014.
Penrod, Grant. "Journalists and Public Support use of Confidential Sources, New Survey shows." News Media and the Law, vol. 29, no. 2, Spring, 2005, pp. 22, Research Library, https://search-proquest-com.byui.idm.oclc.org/docview/274295195?accountid=9817.
“Shield Law.” A Dictionary of Journalism, by Tony Harcup, Oxford University Press, 2014, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199646241.001.0001.
Smith, Dean C. A Theory of Shield Laws: Journalists, Their Sources, and Popular Constitutionalism. LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC,
Journalist often argue that their source would be put into great personal harm if their identity were to be disclosed. In this case, are they not already putting themselves in danger by bringing their topic to a journalist. There will always be a risk attached to anything a person does, and this risk does not out way the need for the media to provide professional sources, with credibility, when proffering evidence or backing to the claim being perpetuated within the media. Laura Handman argues; that maintaining source confidentiality is a “duty” that journalists have, and that the population should also support this endeavor as the sources would be putting themselves at risk in order to proclaim their information (Protection of Confidential Sources). This view point is intriguing as it shows a thought process behind those that are pro-source confidentiality. While this view point is illuminating, there is still the issue of credibility. The nation has passed the days in which people were able to take everything at face value, instead the population has become callous and distrusting of the information being published by media outlets. As a result, the media has the necessary obligation to be more transparent so as to enable the population to believe what is published by the agency. The media frequently calls of political transparency …show more content…
“Protection of Confidential Sources: A Moral, Legal, and Civic Duty”. Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, Feb. 2014, scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi
Folkenflik, David. “Q: Could U.S. Prosecute Reporters For Classified Scoops? A: Maybe.” NPR, NPR, 22 Mar. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/22/521009791.
Mitchell, Amy, et al. “3. Loyalty and Source Attention.” Pew Research Center's Journalism Project, Pew Research Center, 7 July 2016, www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/loyalty-and-source-attention/.
Patching, Roger, and Martin Hirst. Journalism Ethics Arguments and Cases for the Twenty-First Century. Routledge, 2014.
Penrod, Grant. "Journalists and Public Support use of Confidential Sources, New Survey shows." News Media and the Law, vol. 29, no. 2, Spring, 2005, pp. 22, Research Library, https://search-proquest-com.byui.idm.oclc.org/docview/274295195?accountid=9817.
“Shield Law.” A Dictionary of Journalism, by Tony Harcup, Oxford University Press, 2014, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199646241.001.0001.
Smith, Dean C. A Theory of Shield Laws: Journalists, Their Sources, and Popular Constitutionalism. LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC,