Protecting a Source

Whether or not it is ethical, it is certainly bad for the reporter and the newspaper in question. Journalists do not reveal sources because to do so would very likely cause their sources of "off-the-record" information to dry up. The Supremes have not clarified the issue, and their rulings have left the question of when reporters can be made to reveal their sources up in the air. The line the journalists take is that the right of the public to know is greater than the potential harm done to individuals or institutions by such "leaking" of information. Given the history of the press, i personally am less than impressed by them taking a moral stand.