NEWS ANALYSIS
Why The Media Resists Naming Whistleblower
President Trump and his allies say there’s a gaping hole in the middle of the biggest news story in years: the name of the federal whistleblower who sparked the impeachment inquiry that now threatens Trump’s presidency. Outside of a few conservative news sources, the story didn’t get much traction. How come? The answer appears to lie in several factors: concerns that revealing the name could jeopardize the whistleblower’s safety; legal questions about whether the whistleblower’s identity is protected by federal law; and potential adverse public reaction to such a disclosure.
