A UNIVERSITY of Limerick lecturer has warned that search for truth will be destroyed if journalists fail to protect their sources.
In his inaugural lecture as Adjunct Professor of Journalism at UL, Gerard Colleran said truth is the only motivation of journalists, regardless of its source.
The former editor of The Irish Daily Star said journalists have to live within a legal environment where the protection of sources may sometimes prove problematic.
“If journalists talked only to sources with pristine motivations, then they’d be forced to live a very boring and lonely life. Most people giving information to journalists have their own reasons, their own angle, their own spleen perhaps, to taste revenge, to embarrass a company, a boss, a partner – whatever.
Referring to the Charleton Tribunal investigation into allegations of a smear campaign against Garda whistle-blower Sergeant Maurice McCabe, Mr Colleran said it was almost inevitable that Judge Charleton will be forced to ask some very awkward questions to a number of journalists.
“If top Gardai were trying to smear Sergeant McCabe by briefing journalists against him, does that unworthy motivation remove the journalist’s privilege?”, he asked.
“The law has its own approach and journalists must have theirs. Journalists play a very important role, not separate to, but part of the wider community.
“Journalists do not cling to the principle of protecting their sources out of self-interest alone – although there is a complete awareness that conceding the principle would wreck all trust in journalism, undermine its legitimacy and render it entirely useless,” he continued.
According to Mr Colleran, motivation is not the business of journalists, “truth is”.
“It’s to truth that journalists owe their first allegiance. Is the story true, just and fair? Is it important enough to be published? Well, if it passes that test, get on with it. Publish. Journalists the world over know instinctively that the protection of one’s sources is a fundamental principle that if abandoned will destroy journalism,” he said.
Mr Colleran is a graduate of University of Limerick where he received an MBA in 1993 and Harvard Business School in Boston.
The well-known journalist and television presenter played a central role in the political negotiations on the new Defamation Act and is currently in his second year of law studies at Kings Inns.
Stating it was vital that young journalists understand the implications of how journalistic privilege is understood, UL head of journalism Dr Fergal Quinn described it as one of the cornerstones of the freedom of the press in this country.
“It is crucial for all journalists to fully understand the subtle distinctions and limitations between how this right is understood both legally and ethically”, he added.
