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Building trust with news sources is critical for reporters in order to write credible and relevant stories.
This was stressed by Luz Rimban, a veteran Manila-based journalist to Cebu mass communication students after a film showing held at the Marcelo Fernan Cebu Press Center.
Rimban, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) broadcast manager, said the source-reporter relationship is the foundation of a journalist's success.
“With good sources, you have good and credible stories. But with bad sources, you have stories that are not true, unreliable and stories that the public will doubt,” she said.
Students viewed the movie “Nothing But The Truth”, one of several offerings of the annual celebration of Cebu Press Freedom Week.
In the movie, a female Washington DC reporter is targeted by the US government after refusing to reveal her source for a story that identifies an undercover CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) operative.
The reporter is jailed for several years for refusing to reveal the identity of her source.
The story was loosely based on the experience of Judith Miller who knew the source of information that revealed Valerie Plame, the wife of Ambassador Joe Wilson, as a CIA operative.
Miller was imprisoned for only 85 days and was “released”by her source of her vow of confidentiality. She was then allowed to reveal his identity.
In a post-screening talk , Rimban talked about the film and gave a checklist of some “rules” in dealing with news sources.
While reporters should fully identify sources of their stories, Rimban said they also have the option to grant confidentiality to protect sources whose safety and livelihood may be compromised if their identities are revealed.
In the Philippines, reporters can’t be forced to reveal their sources unless it’s a matter of national security.
Republic Act No. 53 as amended by Republic Act No. 1477 or the Shield Law was authored by the late Sen. Vicente Sotto III.
The Watergate scandal in the ‘70s which later brought down US President Richard Nixon was another example of an important story developed from good source-reporter relations, Rimban sai.
Two Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, never revealed the name of their source, whom they called “Deep Throat”. The source gave them leads in their investigation on those responsible for wiretapping the Democratic national committee office.
The identity of the source was revealed only after 30 years as W. Mark Felt, the second most powerful man in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“When you promise confidentiality to a source, keep your promise. A source-reporter relationship is built on trust. If you violate this, your credibility will be questioned. Chances are the source would no longer talk to you and he will tell others about what you did,” said Rimban.
