Whistle-blowers are among the most powerful sources that journalists can rely on for reporting on a story or launching investigations. The term ”whistleblowing” - to blow in the whistle - is a figure of speech that depicts someone who, while doing their job from within an organization of any kind, witnesses illicit, immoral or illegal acts and decides to denounce what they know to people capable of causing a response action. Whereas most of whistleblowing happens within the same organizations affected by the denounced acts - to superiors or independent bodies - in some cases, whistle-blowers can reach out to external recipients of their complaints. When they contact journalists, whistle-blowers can bring otherwise inaccessible evidence of crime or corruption, provide source material or leads for structuring a story or launching an investigation. When cooperating with whistle-blowers, journalists can provide exposure, access to the public and scandalization of complaints and cases that may otherwise be unable to break the silence.

In recent times, whistleblowing has been at the core of various major investigations. The NSA case, among others, is probably the most emblematic of such instances. In the summer of 2013, whistle-blower Edward Snowden, a former CIA and NSA analyst, gave journalists wide evidence of how US Internet surveillance programs were far overreaching, targeted against innocent people and in some cases even illegal. In 2016, instead, the cross-border investigation “Panama Papers” was sparked by the contribution of a still anonymous whistle-blower who provided journalists over eleven million documents attesting various tax evasion schemes in Panama, causing a global debate about offshore economies.

Whistleblowing, as a transparency and accountability practice, can bring many dangers both to the whistle-blowers themselves and to the journalists who publish stories based on those complaints. In particular, sources may face retaliation, including harassment, loss of job, prosecution or even death. For these reasons, it is crucial for communication between journalists and whistle-blowers to be safe and protected, especially online. In order to provide actual confidentiality, safety and anonymity to such communication, strong encryption tools are fundamental. Thus, information security applications such as the messenger Signal, the encryption software Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) or whistleblowing software like GlobaLeaks and SecureDrop are now becoming routinized instruments for those journalists who want to safely and effectively work in whistleblowing-led reporting.

The terms leak or leaked information describe a situation when someone who works for a public institution or a business company shares internal and restricted information with a journalist or other media worker without having authorization to do so. There are many possible reasons for leaking confidential information, including the public’s right to get informed and to reveal actions that are against the public interest, like corruption or other wrongdoings. Other motivations could be to warn about upcoming events, but also to discredit a person or a group of people.

A person who leaks information is called ‘whistle-blower’. The whistle-blower’s activity is often illegal or considered unethical. Whistle-blowers often want to stay anonymous, because they can easily find themselves in danger. One widely known whistle-blower is Edward Snowden, who worked for the CIA and in 2013 leaked classified information from the United States National Security Agency.

Disclosure sites can have an important role when someone wants to share thousands or millions of pieces of information. Such sites provide the technical background and ensure anonymity to the whistle-blowers. In this case, the source does not have to contact a journalist directly and can disguise their identity even from the owner of the site. One well-known example is WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organisation and disclosure site that publishes news leaks and classified data sent to them from anonymous sources. It was initiated by Julian Assange in 2006 and shared ten million documents in ten years.

Without sources there is no journalism: if journalists do not want to rely just on their own observations, they have to use sources to get more details and aspects of a story. A source can be a document (like a tape, a photo, a script, and a file), or a person. Sources ensure the free flow of information, they provide data, stories, and all possible inputs to inform and help to make decisions.

Using sources also means that journalists need to check their credibility. In the case of public records (company register, law directory etc.) the available data are authentic, so they usually do not need to be audited. However, if the information comes from a written source that is not available for the public (like internal records and investigative materials) the journalist has to verify whether they are authentic or not, who wrote them to whom, and for what purpose. A source that provides accurate information can be called reliable.

A distinction can be made between primary and secondary sources. A primary source is at the centre of the events and issues in question, or at least witnessed them. A document can also be a primary source. A secondary source is a person who only passes on information. Therefore, the possibility of distortion is higher than in the case of primary sources.

Some sources only share information if they can remain anonymous. Information from an anonymous source is less trustworthy for the audience than information with a named source. On the one hand, in the case of whistleblowing, verifying the authenticity of the leaked documents is even more important. On the other hand, protecting a source is one of the key elements of being a journalist, as well as an important part of press freedom. However, the protection of whistleblowers is currently regulated very differently worldwide.

Focused on having a vast offer to a broader audience, this model monetizes from volume: i.e. one media that has a small audience for each content, but so many users and so diverse content (especially when directed to an international audience) that all together assures a good advertising revenue (even at a low price).

This is an evolution from the subscription model. More than a subscriber, members are part of the media outlet. Depending on one’s membership status (each “grade” gives different access/benefits), members can not only access contents, but also participate in the media outlet’s development and editorial decisions. For example, The Texas Tribune has a membership system with several different giving levels, where the benefits go along with the quantity of money given.

 

Similar to the aggregated paywall, but with a fee according to personal interests and/or access profile. The readers/listeners/viewers pay just what they choose, including themes and sections, which devices they want to use and when they want to access.

Philanthropic funding describes the funding of single journalistic investigations, series of publications on distinct issues such as local consequences of globalisation or the running costs of a media outlet for a given time through a non-profit organisation such as foundations or state actors. Due to shrinking media revenue streams and risen interest of non-profit institutions to fund (accountability) journalism, even established media outlets have allowed foundations, journalism funds and the like to finance parts of their reporting.

Experts’ view of this trend are often sceptical as the funding by non-profit institutions cannot serve as a sustainable long-term funding model, the reputation of a donor might compromise the credibility of a media outlet, and conflicts about the goals of such a collaboration might arise between the donor and the journalists. However, given the dire financial state of the media, philanthropic funding has developed as one of the main income streams for collaborative and cross-border journalism projects.

Among them are long-term projects like the British Bureau Local, which strives to support small media outlets doing more in-depth local reporting, and short-term funding such as those for cross-border collaborations by Reporters in the Field or the European Cross-Border Grants by journalismfund.eu. Researchers and journalists alike underline that it is crucial to discuss within the whole team about the acceptance of such funding beforehand, have all parties agree to editorial independence, and be transparent about all sources of income to your audiences.

Scholars studying the phenomenon of privacy often emphasize that this concept is complex, difficult to define, and historically and culturally diverse. In the late 19th century, it was defined by American jurists as the „right to be let alone”. Since then, philosophy, social theory, law, media science and informatics have also addressed this issue. Various researchers have listed possible types, dimensions, and contexts of the concept. These are obviously related to a problem that media science has also been dealing with for a long time: the changing boundaries between the private and the public spheres as a result of new communication technologies.

For example, according to a summary by contemporary jurists, published in 2017 and examining the legal practice of different countries, there are eight interpretations of the concept of privacy that distinguish between private and public spheres. It can be interpreted as bodily privacy (1): the freedom of movement and control over our own body. Another aspect of privacy is the control of one’s own space (2), which refers primarily to places like the own home. An important feature of privacy is the ability to access and control mediated or non-mediated communication (3). Privacy includes the disposition of property (4) as well as our personal beliefs, opinions, and individual decisions (5) within the context of intimate relationships. Part of the semi-public zone is associational privacy (6), which means control over possible social relationships. Behavioural privacy (7) implies that autonomy is also respected in the external monitoring of individual actions in public spaces. Finally, these zones of privacy are framed by the aspect of informational privacy (8), which means both the ability to exert self-control over information about the individual person and the exclusion of unauthorized access.

Media science, which examines the blurring border between the private and public spheres, also points out which actors can act as a threat against the privacy of individuals. Information technology has allowed the state, while trying to maintain legal order and its own power, to exert ubiquitous surveillance. This is also becoming more and more widespread in the business sector, as companies handle individuals as consumers and collect more and more data on their taste and choices. The protection of personal data and the appropriate privacy policies of organizations are therefore an important area of legal regulation. This is served for example by the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in 2018.

The press can also be a threat to privacy when it publishes information that is purely private: this also denotes that privacy and freedom of expression are often conflicting concepts. Thus, ensuring the protection of privacy is a complex communication and legal issue. New encryption technologies can also help protect privacy.

Several media are developing non-core businesses to get more revenues. The more traditional, and mainly associated with print, are physical products that readers can buy with their subscription/purchase for an extra, usually below market value. These products can range from books or movies to sports or leisure items, and even electronics or cutlery.

But other kind of sales also occur: e-commerce, in partnership with retailers, or even space lease. Using internal know-how is another source of possible revenues: I.e. content licencing, custom publishing, events organization, editorial/communication consulting and training (specialized courses or seminars). As the media expert Lucy Kueng noted in 2018: “Legacy companies are therefore exploring additional revenue streams, particularly events”.

The media outlet produces the content, and a company pays for it. When published, the content is clearly marked as “sponsored by”. The main goal for the media is to fund more expensive content prior to its production, and for the brand to increase brand awareness.