WikiLeaks would be at a disadvantage should it find itself in federal court trying to withhold the identity of a source since it does qualify for reporter’s privilege according to criterion laid out by a federal court of appeals in 1998. The appeals court said to qualify, a person must be practicing investigative reporting, gathering news and from the outset intend to disseminate the news to the public.
In an op-ed in Wired, Jonathan W. Peters acknowledges that simply releasing documents does not qualify as journalism, but that WikiLeaks performs an important function. In recognition of this, the courts should recognize a “watchdog privilege” to protect those who gather documents to disseminate to the public but leave others the tasks of making editorial choices, interpreting and analyzing. -db
From an op-ed in Wired, May 20, 2011, by Jonathan W. Peters.