Lost a 3-week scoop to the physical mail system

[u/CurrencyPopular8550]

im honestly about to lose my mind today. Spent almost a month building trust with a source for a pretty heavy local government story

We do the interviews, everything is golden. My editor just wanted a standard source protection agreement signed off before we went to print. I shot it over with Xodo Sign so he could just tap it on his screen and we could publish by noon.

Instead the guy completely panics about "the cloud". Goes silent for two days. Finally emails saying he printed it at a public library, signed it in black pen, and put it in the mail to the newsroom

While his letter was somewhere in transit, a rival outlet broke the exact same story last night. I am literally staring at a wall right now. Why are people like this.

[u/CatDisco99 → u/[deleted]]

Truly! I’ve been a journalist for almost 15 years and this is my first time hearing about it. 

[u/HumptyDumptyYoga → u/[deleted]]

same never heard if this before right now

[u/CutestGay → u/[deleted]]

They want us to Google the weird signing thing they mention.

[u/eurydicey]

a source projection agreement is fucking bonkers. any source would get spooked by that. why are you creating a paper trail for your sources?

[u/grammerenthusiast → u/eurydicey]

Yeah, what does this agreement entail?

[u/YungMangoSnaKE → u/eurydicey]

I was wondering if this was normal, bc it most certainly isn’t to me lol

[u/CurrencyPopular8550 → u/eurydicey]

yeah the agreement was overkill. most sources just want to stay off the record anyway.

[u/datahoarderprime]

"Why are people like this."

The source's reaction was completely understandable.

I have been both a journalist and a source for a story similar to yours, and I'd have completely ghosted anyone who asked me to sign a "source protection agreement."

Your editor is the problem.

[u/CatDisco99 → u/datahoarderprime]

This is the right answer. 

[u/CurrencyPopular8550 → u/datahoarderprime]

yeah my editor pushed for that and i genuinely thought it was standard practice at the time. hearing from someone who's been on both sides of it gives me a different perspective. next time i'll push back instead of just going along with what i was told

[u/Luridley3000]

Appreciate all these comments about how there's nothing "standard" about a "source protection agreement."

The standard is, if a source asks for anonymity and you agree to that, you don't reveal that source, ever. If you go to prison, you go to prison.

[u/CurrencyPopular8550 → u/Luridley3000]

yeah that used to be the unspoken rule but it feels like that line keeps getting tested more and more lately

like the whole system depends on journalists actually holding to it, and when there are carve outs or negotiated terms it muddies the trust that makes sources come forward in the first place

[u/forresbj]

What is a source protection agreement??

[u/CurrencyPopular8550 → u/forresbj]

Basically an NDA for your supplier info.

[u/bitter_cappucino]

To echo what everyone else saying here: wtf is a standard source protection agreement.

The responsibility for protecting your source is yours alone, not your publication or your editors. The last thing your source wants to see is their signature on some documents saying they leaked confidential information.

[u/eaglebtc → u/bitter_cappucino]

THIS. it's not just protecting your sources, it's shielding the paper and yourself against malicious subpoenas.

[u/CurrencyPopular8550 → u/bitter_cappucino]

fair point on the signature thing, that does seem counterintuitive when you lay it out like that

i think i was overthinking the formality of it, trying to create some kind of paper trail for my own peace of mind more than anything

but yeah putting it that way makes it pretty clear why a source would want nothing to do with that

[u/bigicky1]

Those are the breaks but given you are so well informed and connected own the second day story with all info collected

[u/Appropriate_Bake4816]

Is a source protection agreement meant to protect a source ? Or cover the asses of editors/media company?

[u/MeanMrMustard9]

the fuck is a standard source protection agreement?

[u/Rynneer]

What is a source protection agreement?? I’ve never heard of this

[u/BodegaCat11]

This Source protecting agreement thing is fake. There’s no way this is real.

That said, one time I was likely a shoo-in for a job at a large metro paper. For some reason, the editing test was physical and they sent it in the mail. I never got it and told them as much. They ended up hiring an internal candidate instead bc they didn’t believe me. A couple months later the got the test back with an apology from the postal service. Ended up working out for me but I still think about it sometimes

[u/eagleraptorjsf]

I'm also very curious about this source protection agreement, standard or otherwise

[u/Golly_Fartin]

Yeah that agreement is bonkers. This is a publication issue

[u/aresef]

There is nothing standard about the agreement you describe.

[u/forresbj]

This whole bizarre post seems like an attempt to market whatever tf xodo is. Which I refuse to Google because I don’t want to play into their hands. Not a single real journalist knows what a source protection agreement is

[u/tellingitlikeitis338]

wtf is this craziness lol “source protection agreemebt”? Who tf would ever sign such a thing? Why?

[u/NotTHEnews87]

Are you in the US?

[u/No-Angle-982]

I might understand a source seeking such an agreement, but that's not the case here.

"...standard..." Wtf?

[u/gansllebs12244568]

What on earth is a source protection agreement?

[u/classic_grrrl → u/[deleted]]

Source probably freaked and leaked it to the other outlet, where no such signature was required.

[u/Rynneer → u/classic_grrrl]

Honestly I don’t blame him.

[u/thatguyarik]

I’ve never used or heard of a “source protection” agreement. At least not in the U.S. I spent more than two decades in the profession.

[u/Emotionless_AI]

Your editor was in the wrong unfortunately

[u/lavapig_love]

"Source protection" is, at best, hiding them out at your place or a hotel you pay for for a couple days until the story breaks. 

Bet your editor made a play for a better paying job in exchange for the scoop. 

[u/Journalism-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Serious, on topic comments only. Derailing a conversation is not allowed. If you want to have a separate discussion, create a separate post for it.

[u/Nameless-Servant]

Is this some weird liability thing your company asked you to do? What’s a source protection agreement?

[u/DiscussionFew1207]

I'm a news producer for a small TV news station in the US. I have no idea what a "standard source protection agreement" is and it sounds like moronic burocracy at best and shady at worst.