Source confidentiality in journalism

moral perspectives

Abstract

Professional secrecy is one of the most evoked principles in journalistic codes of conduct. However, source protection is a relatively controversial issue. One perspective argues that it is the journalist's duty to never disclose a confidential source even when facing legal requirements. This article proposes to analyze the principle of professional secrecy from the perspective of Laurence Kohlberg’s moral development theory. Resorting to content analysis, the article identifies current perspectives on source confidentiality in national and supranational codes of conduct for journalists, including considerations on the topic by different mechanisms of media accountability in Portugal: news ombudsmen and the Ethics Council of the Journalists’ Union.