I was just reading a Yahoo! (AP, to be precise) news item on the German woman who was abducted from a restaurant in Kabul, and according to the report, those who gave information to reporters did so on condition of anonymity.

Maybe it’s just me, or perhaps it’s my career security orientation, but whenever I run across the quote “on condition of anonymity” in a news article I think, “Oops, another leak“:

In most organizations, public or private, American or Zambuli (think Tanya Roberts in a loin cloth, riding a zebra and leading sports reporter Vic Casey all over jungles and plains, pursued by an OJ type guy and a bunch of hired mercenaries), there are regulations inherent to employment that direct those on the payroll to refer any inquiries by the media or other inquiring entities to specific management personnel.

Such regulations are well within the purview of management, be they government or the private sector, to insist upon as a condition of employment, either as a means of protecting proprietary information, controlling the flow of what might be privileged data, preventing elements of an investigation or other proceedings to be prematurely divulged, perhaps in a stage of incompletion that might disparage the organization because “all the facts” have not yet been disseminated or otherwise contaminate public perception of the organization’s intentions or policies with damaging results. Or, management of the organization in question may be looking to cultivate a specific reputation, or an employee’s volunteering information to the press might not include facts known by those whose responsibilities include functioning as spokespersons for the organization.

At any rate, I believe these regulations are well conceived, and I believe that giving information to the media “under condition of anonymity” should be considered uncontestable grounds for dismissal.

The single exception to this rule would, of course, be in the event that an employee knows that his or her employer, public or private, is actually in violation of the law.