UPDATED ON MONDAY:

When the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist government last Wednesday, placing him under house arrest, AP took a wait-and-see approach to use of the word “coup.” We initially recommended that our staff not describe the events as a coup because of what appeared to be wide public support of the army’s action — and the fact that the overthrow resembled a popular revolt as much as a classic military coup.

AP stories about the Iranian presidential election referred to one of the leading candidates as Hasan Rowhani, the spelling we’ve long used for this Iranian politician and former nuclear negotiator.

With two secret-spilling stories in the news — NSA/ Edward Snowden and Wikileaks/Bradley Manning — we reviewed for our staff today our use of the term “whistle-blower” (hyphenated, per the AP Stylebook).

The rules by which journalists engage with government officials can sound arcane. “Background briefing.” “Off the record.” “Not for direct attribution.” But arguments over applying these rules are part of a struggle that really matters. Most democratic countries explicitly promise the right to speak and publish freely. But often only implied is the right to gather the information you want to speak about or publish, or to have someone gather it on the public’s behalf.