BILL HOBBS LOOKS at the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethical code and observes:

Concealing the name of a source who may have compromised national security would seem not to fit within those ethical guidelines. In fact, it would seem unethical to do so – and concealing the leaker’s identity while calling on the White House to reveal it is a serious conflict of interest. Revealing the name of the leaker would, on the other hand, fit the ethical guideline of focusing on the public’s right to know, and would hold the leaker, presumably a person of some powerful position, accountable for their actions. It also fits well within the SPJ Code of Ethics’ view of anonymous sources, which is that reporters should strive to use named sources as much as possible, and to not promise anonymity to sources whose motives may be suspect.

Read the whole thing.