Opinion Reporting on a leak is not unethical Chattanooga Times Free Press
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March 30 2025 at 800 am
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Alison Gerber
ppppHamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp is angry with the Times Free Press and leveling accusations of unethical behavior against our journalistsppIts hardly news that elected officials are often unhappy with the natural tension between people in power and media outlets who cover their actions and are dedicated to holding them to account But its instructive to see how Wamp is reacting to the papers recent reporting on a leaked memo saying a data breach occurred nearly nine months ago and thousands of affected ambulance customers have yet to be notified as required by lawppRather than addressing the issue at hand answering the question of whether the private information of 14000 people was compromised by a county contractor and how the county plans to respond Wamp is taking to the airwaves to smear the newspapers practices attack the people he suspects of leaking a memo about the data breach and equivocate about whether there was or wasnt a data breachppThe memo states that affected parties and the public must be notified within 60 days but that does not appear to have happened On Wednesday county commissioners met privately and had what Wamp described to WDEF television as a shouting match among county commissionersppHe told the television station I dont think there has been confirmation of a breach but what we do have confirmation of is a leak and continued unethical practices from the newspaper of record in our communityppLet that sink inppWamp is claiming the Times Free Press is unethical for reporting that the county has known for nine months of a potential data breach and taken no action to communicate that breach according to the memo from the county attorneys office He is deflecting and fingerpointing instead of notifying Hamilton County residents that their private information including financial account information addresses health and medical information according to the memo may be compromisedppLets be very clear It is not unethical to write a story based on a government recordppThe newspaper would be derelict in its duty if it chose to ignore a document that raised questions about why 14000 people were not notified that their sensitive information was potentially at riskppIts also not unethical to write about information contained in leaked documents In fact documents leaked to reporters are the cornerstone of some of the most important and meaningful journalism in American historyppThe Pentagon Papers officially titled Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force detailed the United States political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1968 The documents classified as top secret by the federal government and demonstrating how President Lyndon B Johnsons administration misled the public were leaked to the media by a military analyst The American public first learned about how its government had secretly widened the scope of the war in Vietnam on the front page of The New York Times in 1971ppThe Pentagon Papers resulted in a landmark First Amendment case after President Richard Nixon tried to force the Times to suspend publication of the classified information The US Supreme Court decided the Times and The Washington Post could publish the the information without facing government censorship or punishmentppThe following year information leaked to Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein resulted in stories about a campaign of political spying and sabotage directed by Nixon White House officials Nixon initially dismissed the accusations as political smears but the scandal ended his presidency in 1974ppIn both cases journalists used leaked information to reveal to the public revelatory information They did their jobs ethically and conscientiouslyppYet a local paper reports on a document that a reporter obtained through a leak and Wamp calls it unethicalppHeres a question Wamp may want to consider as hes burning his energy leveling inaccurate accusations at people he suspects of leaking this memo Why do people leak information What motivates them to share a document with a journalist In my experience its typically that they are worried a problem isnt being addressed and they have decided that the problem is greater than their obligation to conceal the informationppNeither the mayor nor his staff members would discuss the breach with reporter Joan McClane who wrote the article but the mayor told WDEF that the breach is under investigation and that he does not think its been confirmedppIf the memo from the county attorneys office was wrong about the breach and the July letter notifying the county of the breach was also wrong Wamp should say so That certainly would assuage Hamilton County residents who might be concerned that unauthorized individuals could have access to their confidential information If the breach occurred then he should spend his energy making sure people are notifiedppThe memo stated that federal law requires individuals affected by a data breach to be notified For breaches involving more than 500 people notices must be given to prominent media outlets serving the jurisdiction and to the secretary of Health and Human Services for its websiteppSadly data breaches are part of our world Several local companies including Unum and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee have had data breaches and they reacted appropriately they notified affected people explained how the breach occurred and communicated what people should do to protect themselvesppDetermining whether there was a breach and complying with the law seems like a better use of Wamps time than smearing a reporterppUnfortunately this behavior is not new Wamp has persistently tried to undermine the paper for the past several months He has consistently denounced McClanes reporting He has criticized the papers reporting on television appearances and in speeches and in a newsletter he sends to county residents He has belittled McClane to county commissioners and engaged in other intimidating behaviorppIf Wamp thinks bullying or intimidating behavior will stop the Times Free Press from reporting on his actions he is wrong No one becomes a journalist because theyre afraid to stand up to people in powerppWe will continue to report on our community as we have for the past 156 years ethically conscientiously without fear or favorppAlison Gerber is the editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press Reach her at agerbertimesfreepresscom or 423 3162030ppppPrivacy PreferencesppCopyright 2025 Chattanooga Times Free Press IncppAll rights reservedppThis document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Chattanooga Times Free Press IncppMaterial from the Associated Press is Copyright 2025 Associated Press and may not be published broadcast rewritten or redistributed Associated Press text photo graphic audio andor video material shall not be published broadcast rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays inaccuracies errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing All rights reservedp
March 30 2025 at 800 am
ppby
Alison Gerber
ppppHamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp is angry with the Times Free Press and leveling accusations of unethical behavior against our journalistsppIts hardly news that elected officials are often unhappy with the natural tension between people in power and media outlets who cover their actions and are dedicated to holding them to account But its instructive to see how Wamp is reacting to the papers recent reporting on a leaked memo saying a data breach occurred nearly nine months ago and thousands of affected ambulance customers have yet to be notified as required by lawppRather than addressing the issue at hand answering the question of whether the private information of 14000 people was compromised by a county contractor and how the county plans to respond Wamp is taking to the airwaves to smear the newspapers practices attack the people he suspects of leaking a memo about the data breach and equivocate about whether there was or wasnt a data breachppThe memo states that affected parties and the public must be notified within 60 days but that does not appear to have happened On Wednesday county commissioners met privately and had what Wamp described to WDEF television as a shouting match among county commissionersppHe told the television station I dont think there has been confirmation of a breach but what we do have confirmation of is a leak and continued unethical practices from the newspaper of record in our communityppLet that sink inppWamp is claiming the Times Free Press is unethical for reporting that the county has known for nine months of a potential data breach and taken no action to communicate that breach according to the memo from the county attorneys office He is deflecting and fingerpointing instead of notifying Hamilton County residents that their private information including financial account information addresses health and medical information according to the memo may be compromisedppLets be very clear It is not unethical to write a story based on a government recordppThe newspaper would be derelict in its duty if it chose to ignore a document that raised questions about why 14000 people were not notified that their sensitive information was potentially at riskppIts also not unethical to write about information contained in leaked documents In fact documents leaked to reporters are the cornerstone of some of the most important and meaningful journalism in American historyppThe Pentagon Papers officially titled Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force detailed the United States political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1968 The documents classified as top secret by the federal government and demonstrating how President Lyndon B Johnsons administration misled the public were leaked to the media by a military analyst The American public first learned about how its government had secretly widened the scope of the war in Vietnam on the front page of The New York Times in 1971ppThe Pentagon Papers resulted in a landmark First Amendment case after President Richard Nixon tried to force the Times to suspend publication of the classified information The US Supreme Court decided the Times and The Washington Post could publish the the information without facing government censorship or punishmentppThe following year information leaked to Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein resulted in stories about a campaign of political spying and sabotage directed by Nixon White House officials Nixon initially dismissed the accusations as political smears but the scandal ended his presidency in 1974ppIn both cases journalists used leaked information to reveal to the public revelatory information They did their jobs ethically and conscientiouslyppYet a local paper reports on a document that a reporter obtained through a leak and Wamp calls it unethicalppHeres a question Wamp may want to consider as hes burning his energy leveling inaccurate accusations at people he suspects of leaking this memo Why do people leak information What motivates them to share a document with a journalist In my experience its typically that they are worried a problem isnt being addressed and they have decided that the problem is greater than their obligation to conceal the informationppNeither the mayor nor his staff members would discuss the breach with reporter Joan McClane who wrote the article but the mayor told WDEF that the breach is under investigation and that he does not think its been confirmedppIf the memo from the county attorneys office was wrong about the breach and the July letter notifying the county of the breach was also wrong Wamp should say so That certainly would assuage Hamilton County residents who might be concerned that unauthorized individuals could have access to their confidential information If the breach occurred then he should spend his energy making sure people are notifiedppThe memo stated that federal law requires individuals affected by a data breach to be notified For breaches involving more than 500 people notices must be given to prominent media outlets serving the jurisdiction and to the secretary of Health and Human Services for its websiteppSadly data breaches are part of our world Several local companies including Unum and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee have had data breaches and they reacted appropriately they notified affected people explained how the breach occurred and communicated what people should do to protect themselvesppDetermining whether there was a breach and complying with the law seems like a better use of Wamps time than smearing a reporterppUnfortunately this behavior is not new Wamp has persistently tried to undermine the paper for the past several months He has consistently denounced McClanes reporting He has criticized the papers reporting on television appearances and in speeches and in a newsletter he sends to county residents He has belittled McClane to county commissioners and engaged in other intimidating behaviorppIf Wamp thinks bullying or intimidating behavior will stop the Times Free Press from reporting on his actions he is wrong No one becomes a journalist because theyre afraid to stand up to people in powerppWe will continue to report on our community as we have for the past 156 years ethically conscientiously without fear or favorppAlison Gerber is the editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press Reach her at agerbertimesfreepresscom or 423 3162030ppppPrivacy PreferencesppCopyright 2025 Chattanooga Times Free Press IncppAll rights reservedppThis document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Chattanooga Times Free Press IncppMaterial from the Associated Press is Copyright 2025 Associated Press and may not be published broadcast rewritten or redistributed Associated Press text photo graphic audio andor video material shall not be published broadcast rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays inaccuracies errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing All rights reservedp
