Promises to confidential sources sacrosanct, says Reuters, but stick to expenses policy

Names and identifying details of confidential sources can be omitted from claims, but collecting the news must be done “with nothing but flawless and stellar integrity”, Gail Gove (photo), chief counsel for Reuters News, wrote in “a note on identifying confidential sources in expense reports”.

Thomson Reuters requires employees to identify the recipients of meals, travel and entertainment paid for by the company.

“If a journalist takes a source to lunch, for example, her expense report must reflect the source’s name, title and employer,” she wrote.

There is a “narrow exception” for confidential sources.

“If a journalist has promised that Reuters will not reveal the source’s identity, the journalist’s expense report may omit the name and identifying details of the source,” Gove wrote. “To be clear, the expense report must include all information except the source’s name, employer and title. The journalist’s manager may not approve the expense unless the manager speaks with the journalist, in person or over the telephone, to ascertain whether the expense, standing alone or in combination with other expenses incurred over the course of a year, is within the prescribed limits of the company’s Anti-Bribery, Anti-Corruption Policy. Exceeding those limits requires prior approval from a Thomson Reuters lawyer.”

Gove said the policy prohibits providing to government officials

• a single gift worth more than $150, or gifts worth more than $300 over any 12-month period
• a single meal or other entertainment expense that exceeds $200 per person, or meals or entertainment expenses exceeding $600 over any 12-month period
• travel expenses other than for reasonable ground transportation.

For non-government officials, expenses must be “reasonable and occasional” in keeping with Thomson Reuters’ travel and expense policy.

“We recognize that our promises to confidential sources are sacrosanct, and we have devised this approach to honor those promises,” Gove added. “But as a manager, it is equally your responsibility to be vigilant in upholding the company’s expense policies. We must collect the news - and appear to collect the news - with nothing but flawless and stellar integrity.”

 The note was issued last week. ■