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The confidentiality of journalists' sources in police investigations: privacy, privilege and the freedom of political communication

Rebecca Ananian-Welsh & J. B. Orange

Australian Law Journal2020article
ABDC A
Weight
0.48

Abstract

The protection of source confidentiality is an ethical obligation for journalists and a central tenet of press freedom. The vulnerability of source confidentiality in Australia was laid bare in June 2019 when the Australian Federal Police (AFP) executed raids on the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Sydney headquarters. This article focuses on the scenario presented by the AFP raids, and the separate legal challenges by Smethurst and the ABC which followed. It critiques the potential for distinct fields of law to protect source confidentiality in the federal search and seizure context, namely: privacy rights, the constitutional implied freedom of political communication, and notions of privilege and confidentiality. This analysis reveals a pressing need for law reform and argues that privilege could offer an appropriate and effective option in protecting both press freedom and law enforcement as distinct components of the rule of law.

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@article{rebecca2020,
  title        = {{The confidentiality of journalists' sources in police investigations: privacy, privilege and the freedom of political communication}},
  author       = {Rebecca Ananian-Welsh & J. B. Orange},
  journal      = {Australian Law Journal},
  year         = {2020},
}

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The confidentiality of journalists' sources in police investigations: privacy, privilege and the freedom of political communication

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Evidence weight

0.48

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.34 × 0.4 = 0.14
M · momentum0.80 × 0.15 = 0.12
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.