Ensuring accountability and transparency in networked journalism

Abstract

WikiLeaks has often been criticized for being an organisation seeking transparency without being transparent and accountable itself. One of the dominant issues in this debate is the question of the whistleblowingplatforms’ responsibilities in terms of giving an account of their activities, given the sensitive nature of the leakedand elaborated material. However, in the new media ecosystem, where news reporting, and investigativejournalism, in particular, cross boundaries, and become increasingly networked, where professional journalistsand other actors, such as whistleblowing platforms, closely collaborate, the importance of concepts like openness,responsiveness and transparency are vital. This chapter aims to shed light on how actors working for digital whistleblowing platforms are able to ensure openness, responsiveness and ethical standards with regard to theirown activities, particularly as they work together with news media outlets. To analyse these issues, we draw onthe conceptual model of online media accountability developed by Domingo and Heikkila (2012). The chapterfocuses on whether and how a networked and ‘shared accountability’ can be implemented given that in networkedjournalism truth is increasingly found through collaboration. The paper is based on a document analysis as wellas interviews with managing editors from selected whistleblowing platforms about practices of mediaaccountability