Plenary Session
Unauthorized Disclosures

Intelligence Ethics, Media Ethic
A Clash of Civilizations?

Philip Seib

Although their relationship is generally presumed to be adversarial, intelligence professionals and journalists have much in common. They ask questions, cultivate sources, acquire previously unrevealed material, and dig beneath the surface so they may accurately interpret events, policies, and personalities. They have loyalties to their professions' ethical standards and to the publics they serve. They are expected to maintain commitments to accuracy, objectivity, and fair dealing with providers of information. Not all their norms or priorities are the same, but their values are similar enough to make comparative analysis worthwhile. Despite having some characteristics in common, a contentious tone often pervades the relationship between the intelligence and journalistic communities. An ethical test for this relationship is to determine if dynamic tension can be constructive and maintained within the bounds of civility, recognizing that shared interests do exist and should not be neglected. Numerous cases illustrate cooperation and its limits. In the era of terrorism, precedent is useful but not binding. Journalistic practice must evolve, and the ethics of the relationship between the news media and the intelligence community must be carefully reappraised.

Philip Seib is Lucius W. Nieman Professor of Journalism at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He focuses on international news coverage, media ethics, and new technologies. Seib is author or editor of many books, including: Headline Diplomacy: How News Coverage Affects Foreign Policy; The Global Journalist: News and Conscience in a World of Conflict; and Beyond the Front Lines: How the News Media Cover a World Shaped by War. His most recent book is Broadcasts from the Blitz: How Edward R. Murrow Helped Lead America into War, and he is working on two books about media in the Middle East. He is the series editor of the Palgrave Macmillan Series in International Political Communication and is co- editor of the journal Media, War, and Conflict, to be published by Sage beginning in 2008.