It was discovered that a Hokkaido Shimbun reporter had left a memo containing an interview on the personnel affairs of a company in Hokkaido at the company, which was later submitted as evidence in the trial.
The Hokkaido Shimbun has issued an apology comment for not being able to protect the source of the coverage, and will dispose of this reporter in the future.
According to the Hokkaido Shimbun, a 41-year-old reporter who belongs to the news department of the Obihiro branch office visited the company two years ago and read a memo of another reporter's interview about the reasons why a former executive of a distribution company in Hokkaido resigned. It means that you have misplaced it.
There were three A4-sized memos, and the contents were shared among the relevant reporters.
After that, the former executive filed a lawsuit seeking payment of retirement benefits, and in the trial held last month, the company submitted the interview memo that the reporter had left behind as evidence, and was questioned based on the contents of the memo. about it.
The Hokkaido Shimbun explained, "We have refrained from making an announcement due to the impact on discussions between the parties, but decided to make an announcement after the memo was taken up in court."
In addition, the journalist will be severely punished in the future.
Kiyonori Osumi, executive officer and editor-in-chief of the Hokkaido Shimbun, said, "We take it as a serious incident that violates journalistic ethics by concealing the source of the information. We apologize for causing trouble to those involved and damaging our relationship of trust with readers. We will work to prevent a recurrence by further improving our journalistic education."