Appeal court got it right; press freedom not absolute

In a March 4 opinion piece featured on the Globe and Mail website, Ryerson journalism professor John Miller argues the Ontario Court of Appeal made the right decision last week in ordering the National Post to surrender a leaked and allegedly fraudulent document relating to “Shawinigate.” The court ruled that the public interest in determining whether or not the document was forged outweighed the newspaper’s right to protect its source in this particular case. Miller says the court got the balance right and suggests journalists should avoid issuing absolute guarantees of anonymity to sources.

Full Article: The Ontario Court of Appeal was right: Press freedom is not absolute