Anonymous Source: At War Against the Media; A True Story

Dan Cohen had been an up-and-coming young politician. But that was many years ago. Now he was hanging on by his fingernails doing public relations for a midsize advertising agency. One of his clients was in the final days of a losing campaign for governor. In a desperate move to revive the campaign, the candidate's top level teams had hit upon a plan to disclose that the rival candidates running mate, the first woman ever to seek statewide office, has once been convicted of shoplifting. So the generals called a meeting- and invited Cohen, who agreed to act as an "anonymous source" and provide the press with there legal record of the shop lighting conviction. Though the media outlets agreed not to disclose his name in exchange for the documents, the next day the papers ran the shoplifting and - breaking their promise to Cohen- revealed that he was the source of the the news. Cohen's candidate lost the election. Cohen was fired from his job and became all but unemployable. He sued the papers for breach of contract. They pleaded that their actions were protected under the Firth Amendment. When Cohen's first lawyer, a prominent litigator, realized what he was up against in taking on the media, he resigned from he case. Cohen finally found another attorney, a soul mate, who, like himself was a sole practitioner, working out of his home. He had never tried a lawsuit before a jury. In a pulp fiction twist, the attorney for the lead paper was Cohen's lawyer's ex-wife. Cohen v. Cowles Media went through five court proceedings. When it finally reached the United States Supreme Court, it was decided by a 5-4 vote. The case has become a landmark of First Amendment law. It has been cited in every journalism school in the country.