Charleston Gazette — The Senate must pass a federal shield law

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 11:53:00
• In: Shield law editorials

The Charleston (W.V.) Gazette
August 21, 2010

From John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America:

With WikiLeaks.org recently publishing more than 91,000 classified military reports from the war in Afghanistan, some have questioned whether now is the right time to enact a federal shield law. The media and journalism communities, as well as members of Congress who value the free flow of information, are in firm agreement: The time has never been more right.

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Washington Post — Wikileaks controversy highlights debate over shield law

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 10:17:00
• In: Shield law editorials

The Washington Post
August 21, 2010

Until just a few weeks ago, news organizations thought they were cruising toward a long-cherished goal: Congressional passage of a federal shield law to protect journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources.

Then came Wikileaks.

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Pensacola News Journal — Press shield law needed

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 10:05:00
• In: Shield law editorials

Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal
August 20, 2010

"The only security of all is in a free press" — Thomas Jefferson, writing to Lafayette, 1823.

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Gazette-Journal — The Senate must pass a federal shield law

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 09:53:00
• In: Shield law editorials

Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal
August 18, 2010

From John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America:

With Wikileaks.org recently publishing more than 91,000 classified military reports from the war in Afghanistan, some have questioned whether now is the right time to enact a federal shield law. The media and journalism communities, as well as members of Congress who value the free flow of information, are in firm agreement: The time has never been more right.

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Charlotte Observer — Senate must pass shield law to protect public's right to know

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 09:20:00
• In: Shield law editorials

The Charlotte-Observer, N.C.
August 20, 2010

From John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America:

With Wikileaks.org recently publishing more than 91,000 classified military reports from the war in Afghanistan, some have questioned whether now is the right time to enact a federal shield law. The journalism community, as well as members of Congress who value the free flow of information, are in firm agreement: The time has never been more right.

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Press-Citizen — Time to pass a federal shield law for journalists

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 08:46:00
• In: Shield law editorials

Iowa City Press-Citizen, Iowa
August 16, 2010

Congress is again debating the Free Flow of Information Act, also known as the Federal Shield Law. This legislation would protect journalists from having to turn over certain information to courts -- including the identity of a source, story notes or documents.

The legislation has been adopted twice in recent years by the U.S. House and by the Senate Judiciary Committee in December 2009, but then has gotten stalled in the U.S. Senate. It's long past time for an up or down vote on the legislation, and our two Iowa senators should push for it.

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Jackson Sun — Federal shield law is long overdue

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 08:21:00
• In: Shield law editorials

The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun
August 19, 2010

For years we have urged Congress to "act quickly" to pass various attempts to enact a federal shield law to protect reporters — and their informants — from having to reveal confidential sources. Once again there is an opportunity to pass the Free Flow of Information Act. We urge the U.S. Senate, the final hurdle, to schedule an up-or-down vote on the merits of the legislation before the end of the year.

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Boston Herald — Senate must pass federal shield law

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 07:23:00
• In: Shield law editorials

Boston Herald
August 18, 2010

From John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America:

With WikiLeaks.org recently publishing more than 91,000 classified military reports from the war in Afghanistan, some have questioned whether now is the right time to enact a federal shield law. The media and journalism communities, as well as members of Congress who value the free flow of information, are in firm agreement: The time has never been more right.

Read More

Post-Star — Senate must vote on shield law

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/23/2010 07:13:00
• In: Shield law editorials

The Post-Star, Glen Falls, N.Y.
August 10, 2010

“President George W. Bush angrily hung up the telephone, emphatically ending a tense conversation with his father, the former president of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush.

It was 2003, and the argument between the forty-first and forty-third presidents of the United States was the culmination of a prolonged, if very secret, period of friction between the father and son. While the exact details of this conversation are known only to the two men, several highly placed sources say that the argument was related to the misgivings Bush’s father felt at the time about the way in which George W. Bush was running his administration.”

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News-Press — Help press do its job for public

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/20/2010 14:54:00
• In: Shield law editorials

The News-Press, Fort Myers, Fla.
August 9, 2010

If journalists are going to perform the essential service of investigating wrong-doing and digging up stories the public needs to read, they must - in limited circumstances - protect the identity of their sources.

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