I was hoping for an academic opinion on it, but that's okay.
You have mentioned that you are part of the press, part of the media--you've written for the media. The media has a role in privacy, which I don't disagree with. A source is private between them and the individual in the media. But I find it kind of ironic when I hear from the media that the government isn't as forthcoming as it should be with information, and some of it may have privacy issues attached to it.
Do we not have the same right to protect, as a government--I'm not saying us as a government, but government in general? Are we not being consistent? The media asks for more information, but they have the right to protect their source. Do we not have a responsibility as a government to protect the privacy of people, even though the media may want to know about the issue?