BY MICHAEL GILLARD, MELISSA JONES AND ANDREW ROWELL. JANUARY 2001

The whistleblower - a person willing to risk their safety for the common good -needs responsible investigative reporting. But just as there is a substantial risk from exposing an employer's corporate malfeasance or political corruption, a whistleblower can also be burned and sold out by turning to the media. The high politics of media manipulation and the corruption or negligence of individual reporters can quickly result in the whistleblower's exposure. The very person helping a whistleblower jump from the frying pan can lead him into the fire.

The men and women of Alyeska who blew the whistle in 1999 are truly extraordinary people. Like their predecessors, they knew internal reporting of their concerns was a form of professional suicide. But equally, by going outside they knew a mole hunt would follow. The authors of this article would like to express their admiration and respect to those individuals who cannot be named for fear of reprisals.

However operating among the whistleblowers landscape of wiretaps, private security goons, spineless officials and unscrupulous journalists is a former military intelligence officer who must be named. His experience in the army and as an aide to an Alaskan senator, when coupled with his skills as an oil businessman, make Chuck Hamel a formidable adversary for Alyeska. Often described as a conduit between the media and concerned Alyeska employees, Chuck Hamel acts as an essential safety net protecting the whistleblowers' interests. Any journalist on this patch will eventually find Chuck. It is in the course of such a call that the authors started to smell a bigger story. Of course, in retrospect, it was really Chuck doing what he does best. He was testing us with his well-honed bullshit detector to see if we were capable of protecting the lives and safety of the whistleblowers while not sensationalising their complex revelations.

Our sincere thanks go to Chuck Hamel for trusting us to critically examine the allegations with the whistleblowers; for tirelessly answering all our often late night requests for documents or technical explanations; and most of all for persisting to tilt at windmills.

Michael Gillard, Melissa Jones, Andy Rowell.