ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the legal protection of journalists' sources and the role of the courts in balancing public interests in England. It looks at the legal position in Australia and New Zealand and, more briefly, in the United States. As Lord Scarman put it in the House of Lords during the debate on what is section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, the protection of the journalist's right to shelter his or her sources of information is in the public interest. Any legislation to afford this protection is fundamentally about the right of the public to be informed, and not about the right of the press to be a privileged group in society. The common law jurisdictions of Australia and New Zealand have not granted journalists a specific privilege against disclosure. The press in these countries recognises an ethical obligation to protect the confidentiality of their sources, but a complete privilege against disclosure has been denied.
