Judge orders journalist to turn over source communications

Journalist Mike Elk settled his defamation suit against the NewsGuild on Dec. 1, 2023, and told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he is no longer required to disclose his correspondence with former sources.

Elk, senior labor reporter and founder of the news site Payday Report, in June 2021 sued the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America, the country’s largest journalists’ union, and other defendants for defamation, breach of contract, fraud and assault. He alleged that the union mishandled its response to his investigation into sexual harassment allegations against a NewsGuild leader.

The NewsGuild and other defendants have denied Elk’s claims.

As part of the suit, the NewsGuild and union officials Jon Schleuss, Fatima Hussein and Steve Cook had filed a motion to compel Elk to release the names of and his communications with the sources who told him about the harassment allegations. They also asked him to identify everyone with whom he had communicated about the suit at The New York Times, which published a piece about Elk’s investigation in December 2020.

The court granted the defendants’ motion in September 2023. Elk refused to comply, arguing that his communications were protected by the First Amendment and Pennsylvania Shield Law.

On Dec. 1, Elk signed a settlement agreement with the defendants in the suit, under which he said they are obligated to pay him $10,000.

Semafor’s Ben Smith reported that Elk credited the new leader of the Guild’s parent union, Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr., for “stepping in to resolve this matter.” Smith is a former New York Times columnist who had written about Elk’s investigation and was a target of one of the NewsGuild’s email requests.

Elk announced that he would be donating the full amount to Casa San Jose, an immigrant resources center in Pittsburgh, to be used to train young Latino reporters. He told the Tracker that the journalists trained would have the opportunity to publish work on Payday Report.

Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild, disputed Elk’s account of the settlement, explaining to the Tracker via email and in an online statement that the agreement required the NewsGuild to donate $10,000 to Casa San Jose, a nonprofit Elk selected, rather than giving it to Elk directly. Schleuss added, “It's up to Casa San Jose on how they will spend the money.”

Schleuss also told the Tracker that it was he who had proposed the $10,000 settlement to a nonprofit two weeks ago, adding that “Elk and Smith wouldn't be aware of the internal discussions.”

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to include a statement from Jon Schleuss, NewsGuild’s president, which the Tracker received after the original post was published.