Have grown quite sick of ‘reporter’s privilege.’ If a reporter has checked and double checked his source, he should be able to stand behind that. But, reporters who must always shield their sources, are reporters who are highly suspect, especially in an age when lying has become endemic. Why should any citizen be hurt by anonymous statements broadcast in the greater media? While some reporters are conscientious, well educated journalists, most are not. Why should such a special privilege be given to people who may not even have been able to complete college, taken any courses in ethics or learned anything about civic responsibility? When society gives a doctor or a priest or a lawyer certain ‘privileges,’ it does so knowing that certain minimum standards have been met. That is clearly not the case with alleged journalists.
So have I. To me, the very idea is fundamentally unAmerican.