Watchdog journalism and confidential sources : a study of journalists' negotiation of confidentiality with their sources

Vobič, Igor (author), Poler Kovačič, Melita (author)

In contemporary societies a journalist's right to protect confidential sources is acknowledged to be one of the basic conditions for freedom of the press and one of the cornerstones of watchdog journalism. The goal of this study is to dissect the reasoning and practices of negotiating source confidentiality as seen by Slovenian journalists. By analysing 15 in-depth interviews with print, television and online journalists the authors identified not only a variety of approaches in the practice of everyday journalism, but also conflicting reasoning of source confidentiality. The lack of conventions concerning source confidentiality indicates that journalism appears without proper answers to issues posed by the contemporary complexities of social life. While caught in the interplay between the public and private interests, watchdog journalism can degenerate into the lapdog of the establishment and/or the show dog of the news media industry.

• Language: English
• Work type: Not categorized
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2015
• Number of pages: Str. 591-611, 811
• Numbering: Letn. 52, št. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-85411
• UDC: 070:321.01(497.4)
• ISSN on article: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 33470813
• Publication date in RUL: 20.09.2016

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

V sodobnih družbah je pravica novinarjev do varovanja zaupnih virov priznana kot eden osnovnih pogojev za svobodo tiska in eden od temeljev novinarstva kot nadzornika oblasti. Cilj te študije je razčleniti utemeljitve in prakse pogajanj o zaupnosti vira z vidika slovenskih novinarjev. Avtorja sta z analizo 15 poglobljenih intervjujev z novinarji tiskanih, televizijskih in spletnih medijev prepoznala raznolike pristope v vsakdanji novinarski praksi, pa tudi različno utemeljevanje zaupnosti virov. Pomanjkanje konvencij o zaupnosti virov nakazuje, da novinarstvo nima ustreznih odgovorov na vprašanja, ki jih sprožajo sodobne kompleksnosti družbenega življenja. Ujeto med javne in zasebne interese, se novinarstvo kot varuh demokracije lahko izrodi v ljubljenčka oblasti in/ali v nastopača novičarske medijske industrije.