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LESSON
PLAN: ON TRIAL: ANONYMOUS SOURCES, PROMISES OF CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY
By
Lisa Greeves, an English and journalism teacher Subjects:
journalism, U.S. government Estimated
time of completion: two class periods Lesson
Objectives
Students
will: - identify
problematic media issues in promises of confidentiality, anonymous sources, privacy,
and the public's right to know.
- conduct
research into legal issues, including criminal matters and shield laws.
- write
their opinions on an assigned topic, using research to support their opinions.
- articulate
group defenses or views to a larger audience.
Overview:
Have
your students explore the thorny issues involved with reporting leaked information,
promising confidentiality to your sources, and walking the fine line between causing
harm and reporting necessary information. Students will conduct research into
these issues as they apply to this situation and role-play this story in a mock
trial involving these journalistic and confidentiality issues. Materials Correlation
to National Standards
Procedure:
1.
Provide students with copies of the transcript "Reporter's Privilege"
and assign them to read it for homework prior to class. 2.
During the first class period, discuss the journalistic issues involved in this
situation. Pay particular attention to the dynamics involving privacy, promising
confidentiality, shield laws, and the public's right to know, and the newsworthy
aspects of this issue. 3.
Assign students roles to play in a mock trial of these reporters. Provide students
with copies of the case history below prior to assigning roles. Case
History:
Two
reporters, Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller, are being charged with contempt of
court for not revealing their sources. The situation involves a third writer,
syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who in July 2003 identified a covert CIA operative
by name in one of his columns. He only identified his sources as "two senior
administration officials." The news issue concerns the covert CIA operative's
husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson who, only days before Novak's column
appeared, had publicly challenged President Bush's claim that Iraq had tried to
buy uranium in Niger. Revealing the name of a CIA operative is a crime. The Justice
Department launched an investigation into finding out who provided the information
of the covert CIA operative's name. Cooper and Miller had both done research about
this news item; Cooper actually wrote about it, but Miller did not. Since both
reporters had done research, both were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury
about their sources, in the hopes that their sources would reveal the person who
leaked the name of the CIA operative. Both reporters refused the court order to
testify before a grand jury about their sources; as a result they were charged
with contempt of court. Now their case is being heard in federal court in Washington
D.C. Roles
to Play:
- Reporter
Matthew Cooper of Time Magazine
- Reporter
Judith Miller of the New York Times
- Judge
- One
defense attorney representing Cooper
- One
attorney representing Miller
- Two
Justice Department prosecutors
- Editor-in-Chief
of the NYT
- Editor-in-Chief
of Time
- Jury
members (if applicable)
4.
Assign all students to research for homework, no matter what their role, the following
issues as they relate to the issues involved in this trial: The
Reporters' Side:
- What
is the public's right to know here? How strong is it?
- Are
reporters protected by the First Amendment in matters involving criminal activity?
- What
are their reasons for promising confidentiality to their sources and for subsequently
not revealing their sources later on during the legal investigation?
- Why
should the reporter or newspaper be found not guilty of the contempt of court
charges?
The
CIA Agent's Side (even though she is not present for the trial):
- How
might this affect how she can perform in her job?
- What
damages might she have suffered?
- Was
her privacy violated? How?
-
Why should shield laws not apply here?
- Why
should the reporters or publications be found guilty of the contempt of court
charges?
The
Government's Side:
- How
has a crime been committed?
- What
is the punishment for that crime?
- How
does that crime negatively affect the United States' government?
- Why
does the investigation of the crime, the identification of the sources, and the
prosecution of the guilty parties outweigh the promises of confidentiality that
the reporters made?
All
students, regardless of role, should conduct research regarding both sides of
the case so that they are well-informed. Students
who are role-playing attorneys, plaintiffs, and defendants should prepare their
arguments and testimony for homework in order to participate in the mock trial
during the next class period. Students who are role-playing jurors and the judge
should write a one-page summary of their research of these issues, and summarize
what their opinion is of the case before they hear oral arguments. 5.
Students playing attorneys representing both sides will present their case to
the judge in front of the class (and a jury, if there are enough students) during
the subsequent class session. Have the judge and jury listen to both sides present
their cases, as well as statements from both plaintiff and defendant. 6.
After presenting arguments, take a "recess" to allow jury or judge to
reflect outside the room on what their decision will be. Discuss with the remainder
of the class the findings of both sides and which one has the strongest case.
Then, return the jury or judge to the room, and resume the mock trial. Have either
the jury or the judge issue a verdict and explain how they came to that decision. 7.
Writing Assignment: After the mock trial, assign each student to write an opinion
paper in which they explain their personal opinion on this case, whether or not
the reporters did anything wrong, whether the leaked information should have been
published. They should support their opinion with research. Turn in for a grade,
along with whatever notes or summaries they prepared for homework. Resources: "Testing
Press Privilege in CIA Leak Case"
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/leaks/index.html "Reporter's
Privilege"
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec04/reporter_12-8.html Poynter
Online (many articles written on CIA leak)
www.poynter.org Extension
Ideas:
1.
Have students research one of the more famous uses of anonymous sources: the use
of "Deep Throat" by Watergate reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
of the Washington Post. Assign students to read the book All the President's Men
and summarize how Woodward used the information he gleaned from his source. Students
should research the various people suspected of being Woodward's source "Deep
Throat." Encourage them to come up with their own speculations as to the
identity of the source. Finally, discuss as a class whether the use of an anonymous
source was justified in this coverage or not. 2.
Assign students to select one day's issue of your local newspaper and to read
it in its entirety. Then, assign them to work in groups to count each instance
of an anonymous or unidentified source. Groups may want to work per section of
the newspaper. Have groups take notes on what types of situations seemed to commonly
rely on anonymous sourcing, what articles had the most usage of anonymous sources,
and what kind of information they tended to reveal. Each group should make a chart
of their findings, and each group will share their charts and findings with the
class. Then discuss how much (or how little) your local newspaper relies on these
kinds of sources. Invite an editor from that paper in to visit your class and
to speak about this issue. Standards
This
lesson meets the following NCTE
standards that apply to high school journalism classrooms. - Standard
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions,
style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and
for different purposes.
- Standard
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different
writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences
for a variety of purposes.
- Standard
6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g.,
spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to
create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
- Standard
7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions,
and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety
of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate
their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
- Standard
8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries,
databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and
to create and communicate knowledge.
- Standard
11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical
members of a variety of literacy communities.
- Standard
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own
purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
This
lesson meets the following National
Council for Social Studies standards: - Individuals,
Groups, and Institutions
- Power,
Authority, and Governance
- Civic
Ideals and Practices
About
the Author Lisa Greeves is a former English and Journalism teacher. She
has a B.A. in English and Communication and an M.A. in English. Her chapter titled
"Vignette: Collaborating on an Editorial" appeared in Applying NCTE/IRA
Standards in Classroom Journalism Projects, published by NCTE in 2002. She currently
is an instructor for Johns Hopkins' Center for Talented Youth's Distance Writing
Program. To
find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact
Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org. |
