Sources and Their Protection

—Media freedom is essential to encourage good governance and democratic participation. —Media must practice professionalism and maintain a certain degree of ethical standards. —When media is free, independent, responsible and accountable, they contribute to the life and liberty of the populations they serve. —However, it must be remembered that while the masses do have the right to know, the media also has a duty to protect their interests and not let its own interests get in the way. Thus, it is extremely important to carefully scrutinise all information that is being transmitted to the masses. —It is for this reason that self-regulation is important (and preferable) over state controls over the media. Journalist unions and professional bodies are there to hold the media accountable while at the same time protecting the rights of journalists. —The Pakistan Federation Union of Journalists (PFUJ) represents all journalists in the country. Headquarters in Islamabad. It has waged countless battles for press freedom. —It also works towards improving the economic conditions of journalists (since they are usually under-paid). —PFUJ was set up in 1950 and has seen journalists through some really tough times, particularly during the Zia era when journalists were routinely lynched and sent to prison for writing against the government.—As mentioned earlier, a source is a group, institution or individual that generates a message or an event. Journalists use sources to verify the authenticity of the events that have occurred or the information discovered. —Many countries award journalists the right to protect their sources. It means the court cannot force a journalist to reveal his/her source. —This right is based on the fact that many people will not come forward and sharing information pertaining to public interest if journalists are forced to reveal their sources. —There are, however, instances where a journalist should reveal his/her sources, especially if the country’s security is at stake. Of course, it also depends on the nature of the information that a journalist has made public. At the end of the day, the questions you should be asking yourself are: is the source worth protecting? What could it mean for the country is the source remain anonymous? And if a journalist is being