Erosion of journalistic immunity

Denial of rights to journalists
Forced breach of journalistic confidence

Nature

Pressure to make journalists reveal their sources of information may take the form of arrest, trial and imprisonment or general intimidation. Recent examples of threats to journalistic immunity have occurred in USA court cases, with convictions against journalists for the publication of the Pentagon Papers. In countries where political censorship is heavy, journalists may be imprisoned and tortured for subversive activities. Information may concern crime, corruption or other injustices, or be akin to espionage; and the possibility that sources would be revealed would risk making it more difficult or even impossible to obtain this information. The public would therefore be deprived of knowledge about matters which might concern them directly or indirectly.

Background

The erosion of journalistic immunity emerged as a global concern in the late 20th century, as increasing threats, legal actions, and surveillance against journalists highlighted vulnerabilities in press protections. Landmark cases, such as the imprisonment of reporters in Turkey and the United States, drew international attention to the diminishing safeguards for journalistic sources and activities. Over time, advocacy groups and watchdog organizations have documented a marked rise in governmental and non-state pressures undermining journalistic independence worldwide.

Incidence

The erosion of journalistic immunity has become a pressing global issue, with increasing numbers of journalists facing legal threats, surveillance, and prosecution for their reporting activities. This trend is evident in both democratic and authoritarian countries, where protections for press freedom are being undermined by new laws, digital surveillance, and the misuse of national security or defamation statutes. The chilling effect on investigative journalism and the public’s right to information is being felt worldwide, as media professionals are deterred from exposing corruption and abuse.
In 2023, in India, several journalists were subjected to police raids and the seizure of electronic devices under anti-terrorism laws, notably during investigations into the news portal NewsClick. This incident drew international concern over the diminishing safeguards for journalistic sources and the increasing use of legal instruments to intimidate reporters.

Claim

If democracy is an engine, a free press is the oil that makes it work. If journalists cannot protect their sources, those sources will dry up and with them the essential lubricant that makes the difference between an inert, formal structure and a mechanism that actually works. Legislation fails to recognize the importance of confidential journalistic sources to the health of the body politic.

Instead of upholding the citizens' right to know what government institutions are doing in their name, the courts are effectively terrorizing the journalists who make available that information into betraying the trust of those who have information on what government wishes to withhold from the public.

Counter-claim

Disclosure of journalistic sources is necessary when it is in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime.