Anonymous sources
Sometimes information the public needs to know is only available through anonymous sources or contributors, generally on an "off the record" basis.
Protecting sources is a key principle of journalism for which some journalists have gone to jail. We must take care when we promise anonymity that we are in a position to honour it, including the need to resist a court order.
When a source asks for anonymity as a condition of giving information, or a contributor demands anonymity when taking part, we must agree with them precisely the way they are to be described. However, with an anonymous source, especially a source making serious allegations, we must give the audience as much information about them as is compatible with protecting their identity, and in a way that does not mislead the audience about their status.
Whenever a BBC story involves an anonymous source, the relevant editor has the right to be told their identity. In cases involving serious allegations we should resist any attempt by an anonymous source to prevent their identity being revealed to a senior BBC editor. If this happens, the reporter should make it clear that the information obtained confidentially may not be broadcast.
When anonymity is agreed everyone must be clear about its extent. It may be sufficient to ensure that contributors are not readily recognisable to the general public, or in the case of significant contributors it may be necessary to ensure they cannot even be identified by friends and family.
We must ensure that if anonymity is necessary it is effective. Both picture and voice may need to be disguised. A "voice-over" by another person is usually better than technically induced distortion, which can be reversed, but audiences should be told what they are hearing. Blurring rather than "pixilation ", which can be reversed, is the best way of ensuring anonymity in pictures.
Our promises of anonymity may also need to include, for example, blurring car number plates and taking care not to reveal the location of a contributor's home in order to avoid any risk of "jigsaw identification".
We may need to disguise the identity of contributors if their safety may be compromised when material originally recorded for the BBC's UK services is rebroadcast on our international services.