Media are tempted to use sensational stories even if they come from anonymous sources. The Indian Express published an 'expose' based on a dubious videotape in November 2003 that led to the resignation of Dilip Singh Judeo as Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests. It is not easy to reject anonymous sources because what they say may be the truth. Deep Throat spoke the truth and the Carl Bernstein-Bob Woodward duo of The Washington Post began a series of articles in the 70s that led to the downfall of U.S. President Richard Nixon.
Deep Throat revealed himself to the reporters and advised them to 'follow the money' in what became infamously known as the Watergate scandal. The reporters, on their part, pledged to keep confidence. Only in June this year did Deep Throat reveal himself to the public at the age of 91. According to Vanity Fair's scoop, he was Mark Felt -- former deputy chief of the FBI.
Now what happens when reporters are pressured to name their sources, especially by a court? Judith Miller of the New York Times was recently jailed in Virginia for contempt because she refused to name her source in the Valerie Plame-CIA agent case. Matthew Cooper of Time magazine revealed his source in the same case to a grand jury because, according to him, he received at the last minute from his source a 'dramatic message' freeing him to testify.
Miller's record as a journalist is not all that bright. She was castigated by media critics for her prewar reporting about Iraq's non-existent weapons of mass destruction. But that is an issue which has no bearing on her latest predicament. By rather going to jail for protecting the name of her source, she has upheld the righteous principle of confidence for which Bill Farr of the Los Angeles Times went to jail in the 70s.
The principle is simple. Never rely on sources who wish to remain incognito. But if the issue is of utmost public interest, the story cannot be missed and you have no choice but to keep confidence -- even if at a later date you chance to know that the source had taken you for a ride. There's a halo round Miller's head; and a season in jail is a small price to pay for the credibility of the media.