News SourceConfidentiality Intact
Two journalists in Ohio, USA, scored a majorpoint for their profession last week when a judge ruled that theydid not have to reveal their sources for stories published inthe Cincinnati Enquirer about alleged business practices by theChiquita banana company in Central America.
The case was brought by one of the bananacompany's former lawyers, George Ventura, who wanted the two journaliststo discuss the role he was claimed to have had as a source inthe story because such information was crucial to a lawsuit hehas against the newspaper.
The 1998 articles which were written forCincinnati Enquirer by Cameron McWhirter and David Wells resultedin that newspaper paying Chiquita US$14 million.
Ventura's action against the newspaper wassubsequent to the newspaper's financial settlement with Chiquitaand he is seeking damages on the ground revelation of him as asource for articles about Chiquita damaged his reputation andcost him a job as a partner in a Utah law firm.
While ruling that the journalists coulduse an Ohio law which allows them to keep confidential the identitiesof sources for stories the judge said that Ventura could anyhownot determine that he was the only source of information for thearticles.