Reporter Malpractice, Texas Hold-em & the Plame Game. Exactly. That’s what I was trying to write, except that I couldn’t sort out my thoughts on it adequately.
When Bob Whitehouse dropped Plame’s identity on Miller, he immediately breached his contract with her. An agreement of confidentiality binds both parties, not just the reporter. When the source swears the journalist to secrecy, he/she incurs an obligation to behave ethically, as well. A reporter’s good faith oath isn’t a license of indenture, and it may not be played in bad faith to place a reporter in undue jeopardy. If Whitehouse breaks that trust, the reporter is no longer under any obligation whatsoever to protect his name.
Miller needed to step back and say “thanks Bob, but no thanks — you’re the story now.” Reporters are obligated to the truth, and allowing themselves to be pimped by those who would use them as tools against the truth is a crime against the profession and the society it serves. Protecting that which you are bound to expose is malpractice.