Federal court: Ohio shield law protects journalists, not sources

By The Associated Press

08.10.01

Printer-friendly page

CINCINNATI — A federal magistrate has ruled that an editor and a former reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer do not have to identify confidential sources used in stories about the Chiquita banana company that the newspaper later renounced.

Cameron McWhirter and David Wells can invoke an Ohio law that allows reporters to protect the identities of confidential sources for news stories, Magistrate Jack Sherman ruled Aug. 7.

The newspaper published stories in May 1998 that criticized Chiquita Brands International Inc. for alleged improper business practices in Central America. The Enquirer later apologized to the company on its front page, renounced the stories and paid Chiquita $14 million.

A former Chiquita lawyer, George Ventura, had asked Sherman last month to order the two journalists to discuss Ventura's role as a confidential source for the stories. Ventura believes the information is material to a lawsuit he has filed against the Enquirer and its owner, Gannett Co.

Ventura argued that the privilege of not revealing sources did not apply because his identity already had been revealed by former Enquirer reporter Michael Gallagher.

But Sherman said Ventura could not assume that he was the only confidential source and that the state's shield law could be waived only by a newsperson.

"We think that the court ruled correctly on the broad issue of who owns the privilege to withhold source identity," said Jack Greiner, attorney for Gannett and the Enquirer, yesterday. "I think this ruling strengthens the idea of confidentiality."

Ventura's attorney, Marc Mezibov, said he had not decided what step to take next.

"The troubling aspect to this decision is that a 'burned' source is being prevented from vindicating the promises made to him that his name not be revealed," Mezibov said.

McWhirter, Wells and both companies say they have not identified any confidential sources for the stories about Chiquita.

McWhirter and Gallagher reported the stories, and Wells was the editor overseeing their preparation.

The Enquirer said it fired Gallagher because it eventually learned that he had obtained unauthorized access to voice mailboxes of Chiquita executives, without the knowledge of Enquirer supervisors.

Wells now writes for the Enquirer's editorial page. McWhirter is a reporter for another Gannett newspaper, The Detroit News.

Sherman said Wells and McWhirter must answer some questions asked by Ventura's attorneys. Those include issues of whether Gallagher had authority or direction to use confidential sources and whether there was any discussion of whether it was legal to access voicemails.

Ventura's suit is scheduled for trial in January.

He says he is entitled to unspecified monetary damages because his exposure as a source for negative stories about Cincinnati-based Chiquita damaged his reputation and cost him a job as a partner in a Utah law firm. He is now in private law practice in Salt Lake City.

A former editor of the Enquirer, Lawrence K. Beaupre, also has sued Gannett, alleging that he was made a scapegoat for problems with the Chiquita stories. The company denies the accusation.

Update

Federal magistrate: Confidential source dispute should go to trial
Court says former Chiquita lawyer can proceed with claim that Cincinnati Enquirer broke promises to maintain his anonymity.  08.06.02

Previous

Ohio shield law at heart of newspaper-lawyer dispute
Former Chiquita lawyer seeks court order for Cincinnati Enquirer journalists to name him as source for renounced exposé.  07.11.01