Court’s nuanced analysis of McKenzie’s secret recording in Roberts-Smith appeal a far cry from Sky News claims

Journalists Nick McKenzie (right) and Chris Masters outside Sydney’s federal court in June 2023. The federal court has dismissed Ben Roberts-Smith’s appeal in his defamation case. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/EPA

When three judges dismissed Ben Roberts-Smith’s appeal in his defamation case against Nine Newspapers last week, they made some insightful comments on journalism practices, in particular the delicate relationship between a reporter and a source.

Dismissing Roberts-Smith’s interlocutory application to reopen the appeal over a secret recording of the journalist Nick McKenzie and a source, the judges noted the “very experienced investigative journalist” was “accustomed to getting the most out of his sources”.