Editorials.(News)(Editorial)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), July, 2005

Why it is vital to protect confidential sources There is a battle going on that has attracted too little attention outside the inner circles of journalism and Washington politics. The case is strange and complicated but at its heart lies the vital principle that reporters must - for the good of an informed public and democracy - be able to protect the confidentiality of news sources.

For nearly two years now, Chicago-area U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, acting as special counsel, has been probing the possibility that federal law was violated in the summer of 2003, when White House sources used a columnist to reveal the identify of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Widespread speculation is that those sources outed Plame as political retribution against her...