After two days of conversation on tackling threats to watchdog journalists worldwide and fostering the kind of innovation necessary to sustain investigative reporting, conference participants met in break-out sessions to identify next steps.

by Kristin Jones
Legal Threats and Opportunities: Reporting on National Security and Other Issues
Moderator: John Dinges, professor, Columbia Journalism School
Lucy Dalglish, executive director, Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press
James Risen, reporter for The New York Times and author of State of War
Roman Shleynov, investigations editor, Novaya Gazeta (Russia)
Harinder Baweja, news and investigations editor, Tehelka
What [...]

This panel will deal with the legal strategies watchdog journalists have used to counter libel suits and to protect their sources, as well as new ways of providing legal protection for investigative journalists.

Investigative journalists throughout the world face legal threats. This panel will look at how lawsuits have put a chill on watchdog journalism in the US and elsewhere. It will focus on the threats to national security reporting, particularly the legal pressures on journalists to reveal their sources.