BY ELIZABETH BRIDGES

Brian Ross has worked as an investigative correspondent at ABC News since 1994. During his tenure there he has won five George Polk Awards, most recently for a three-part exposé of US secret prisons housing al-Qaeda prisoners in Eastern Europe. Recently he sat down with the HPR to discuss the fundamental yet evolving relationship between the political and journalistic spheres.

HPR: What role does the media, particularly investigative journalism, play in a modern democracy?

BR: Our role is to challenge authority, to raise questions, to provoke controversy, to create topics that are part of the national agenda, to get discussion going. It’s not our job to get the laws changed or seek a certain outcome. Our job is to essentially stir it up.

HPR: One instance of your challenging authority was your Money Trail series where you brought attention to politicians’ extravagant fundraising and spending, even before formal restrictions such as those found in McCain-Feingold. How can the media provide oversight to hold politicians accountable when there is a lack of legislative provisions?

BR: People who are elected to office have to answer to voters, and if the voters know something because we reported it and they ask their congressmen why they’re doing it, I think that’s how the system works best. When we started doing the Money Trail series in 1996, our competitors were saying, “Why are you doing this? There’s nothing illegal.” But the real scandal here was what was legal, not what was illegal. I’m proud to say we helped lead the way towards focusing on the intersection of money and power. In this case, it was an attempt to look at how the system worked and to let people think whether or not that was how it should work.

HPR: How adept do you feel politicians have become at manipulating the media?

BR: Everybody tries to manipulate us and use us: PR firms, corporations, the left, the right, the center. Our job is to stand up to that and sort through it for our viewers so that we can get to the essence of the issue. Are they adept at manipulating us? I don’t think in the end they are. In the short term, perhaps. But, in the end, it does catch up.

HPR: In 2006 you reported on the government tracking reporters’ sources through misused provisions of the Patriot Act. How do you feel that deters journalists’ abilities to keep government officials in check?

BR: To the extent that they put a chill on people who talk to reporters. To the extent that they try to force reporters to reveal sources and track phone records on reporters. At some point the Attorney General said that reporters could face espionage charges. We just have to adapt. It means fewer phone calls with key sources and more in-person meetings. I don’t like it that somehow we’re made to feel, as reporters, that we’re criminals, that we’re doing something counter to the interest of society. I don’t think it’s true and I think it’s unfortunate. The courts have held that reporters have really no right to protect their sources. That’s very troubling and could lead to reporters ending up in jail.

HPR: When do responsible journalists choose to reveal confidential sources?

BR: They choose to reveal confidential sources when the confidential sources essentially say it’s okay. If you’ve made an arrangement and given your word that you won’t reveal the source, you don’t reveal the source. The exception would be if you somehow learned about impending crime or violence, then all bets are off. Under our ABC News policy, if we know about a crime that is going to be committed, it’s our obligation to report it.

HPR: Since Watergate broke, there has been a seemingly adversarial relationship between the government and the media. Is that perception true, and what trends do you see in the future?

BR: I think that’s true, and I think it’s a good thing that it’s true. There should be an adversarial relationship. We’re not partners with government, we’re there to challenge government, to expose wrongdoing, to give credit where it’s due. The relationship should be one where it’s our job to raise questions. If that’s not the case, there’s something wrong. ]]>