World News Day: Journalism is Society’s Safety Net [Video]

Amid the growing coarseness of public debate, the pride of independent journalism stands as a source of optimism and belief.

Often at significant personal cost, whistleblowers entrust journalists with secrets. Businesses, politicians and others in power increasingly refuse to meet reporters or explain themselves – but that doesn’t mean they are unaccountable. The rot is still exposed by individuals.

This past year, I met a source determined to get the truth out, but the conversations took place in a hot tub to prove I was not wearing a listening wire, and, on another occasion, in my underwear for the final interview. The story was worth it all, but I couldn’t have known it would be when I started out on the four-month odyssey.

That’s the romance of the business that recruits and repays the indefatigable.

So far, news organisations take the hit, and don’t make it public. But it is …