WASHINGTON- The majority of investigative journalists believe the U.S. government collects data on them, but it rarely changes the types of stories they report. Instead, it changes how they interact with sources, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
In December, The Pew Research Center surveyed 671 journalists who are members of Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Two-thirds of investigative journalists surveyed believe that the government has collected information on their online or digital interactions. The number is 11 percentage points higher for national government, security and or foreign affairs journalists than other investigative journalists.
“Whatever you put out there in cyber space…it is out there, and you can’t really take it back. And there are people that are perfectly capable at getting it,” said Amy McCullough, president of Military Reporters and Editors.
Reporters have taken this as simply a part of the job. Only 3 percent say that this perception has led them to stop pursuing a story. What has changed is how their sources have adapted their interactions with the investigative reporters.
In the past year, 33 percent of reporters say that it has become more difficult to convince sources to be let them publish what is said during their conversations.
There are two main options to guarantee privacy between the reporter and the source. The reporter can become an expert in surveillance technology and encryptions or he or she can completely avoid technology when dealing with sensitive stories, according Delphine Halgand, U.S. director of Reporters Without Borders.
Six in 10 investigative reporters meet people in person rather than by phone or even encrypted email because of the fear that they being monitored. Of those journalists, 11 percentage points of the 59 percent only started meeting sources face-to-face this year.
“The journalist wants to encourage their source to speak, and to encourage a source to use a tool they don’t know…it can discourage sources to continue their conversations,” said Halgand.
