Keeping it confidential to properly protect sources

Protecting people who offer the media important information is a fundamental obligation for journalists. Chris Cooke quit TVNZ after it didn't keep a promise to Erin Leighton, whose off-the-record disclosures ended up being aired in court in the defence of her abusers. They're now pushing for a 'shield law' to ensure our media can guarantee confidentiality.Mediawatch - Protecting people who offer the media important information is a fundamental obligation.Producer Chris Cooke quit TVNZ after it failed to keep a promise to a sexual assault victim, whose off the record disclosures ended up being aired in court in defence of her abusers. Cooke and the victim, Erin Leighton, are now pushing for a 'shield law' to ensure our media can guarantee confidentiality. Last month, convicted fraudster Paul Bennett and a woman, whose name is suppressed, were sentenced to a term of imprisonment for offending against Erin Leighton in 2008, a crime the judge described as "completely premeditated."Suppression orders prevented the media from reporting details of that case until the pair's recent conviction and sentencing. But Leighton, a teenager at the time she was abused by the pair, waived her own right to name suppression to pursue justice. Bennett was previously the subject of plenty of news stories, when he was tried for fraud after skipping to Australia in a stolen yacht. Leighton spoke to TVNZ's Sunday about her frustration that the couple were known to be in Australia, but had not faced justice here for the offences against her. She gave TVNZ an interview on the understanding her account of the offending would remain confidential - but footage ended up being played in the Auckland District Court as part of Bennett's defence. Lawyers for both defendants highlighted differences between Leighton's accounts in a 2008 police interview video and the TVNZ footage from 2015.Last week the New Zealand Herald said TVNZ had gone to court to oppose the release but eventually complied with a court order under the Criminal Disclosure Act. "TVNZ (was) compelled by the courts to provide specific material for the purposes of a fair trial. There were no further realistic legal avenues left for us to pursue, regardless of how individuals felt at the time," TVNZ told the Herald.But former TVNZ producer Chris Cooke told the Herald that TVNZ breached a promise to Leighton to keep the interview confidential. Cooke said he had urged TVNZ to challenge the decision and honour a commitment it had made to Erin Leighton that it would appeal to a higher court to prevent the release of the interview footage. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details