David Pellow - Journalistic Integrity

David Pellow is an Eco-activist and Green Anarchist who also is a Professor at the University of Minnesota, he gave a presentation at Muhlenberg College titled "Radical Politics, State Repression, and the Problem of Ecoterrorism.” His presentation was about his work as an Eco-activist, the various groups associated with his work and his run-ins with the FBI.

The lesson he drove home throughout his presentation was on Journalistic source integrity. As a sociologist he has to deal with a lot of confidential interviews and surveys. One of his students, Scott DeMuth, was working on a research project on a group he was a member of, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) which is a radical eco-anarchist group. David Pellow was acting as his academic advisor. The FBI has labeled the ALF as a domestic terrorist group and asked Scott DeMuth and David Pellow about their sources. Scott refused to comply and was arrested for contempt. David Pellow refused questioning and was not pursued.

Why did they refuse to talk? Because talking to the FBI would destroy their credibility and violate Journalistic source integrity. As a journalist or sociologist many interviews are done anonymously, this confidentiality is held in high regard within the Journalistic world. To violate this creed of ethos would be to betray his profession, and the confidence of those he interviewed. Talking to the FBI would scare away anyone else who he would want to interview for his research.

Why is his research so important though? In a democratic “free” society it is important to tolerate difference of viewpoints. Not much is known about the Eco-Anarchist movements. Pellow’s work could help the greater public understand their motives and message. These groups have often expressed their viewpoints in less than legal methods. The FBI in their investigation of these groups, the ALF in particular, often resulted in attempts to violate the Journalistic source integrity of DeMuth and Pellow. They stayed silent and DeMuth paid for his silence with prison time. Thanks to them the reputation and ethos of Journalism is still held sacred and their research can continue into the underground world of Eco-Anarchism.