Berkshire Eagle — Pass the federal shield law

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 05/08/2007 11:14:35
• In: Shield law editorials

The Berkshire (Mass.) Eagle
May 06, 2007

When a federal shield law comes up for debate, as it currently is before Congress, it is viewed in some quarters as an attempt by journalists, who are not necessarily held in high regard, to protect themselves in their muckraking. More accurately, however, a shield law is designed to protect reporters' sources, such as the whistle-blowers who journalists, and their readers, listeners and viewers, need to gain knowledge of corporate or government corruption. A shield law is in the best interests of all Americans.

The concept of freedom of the press was enshrined by our founding fathers not because of any great love for journalists but because they knew it would hinder the powerful in their attempts to keep misdeeds or incompetence out of the public eye. It is a concept foreign to many, if not most, countries, such as Russia, where journalists are routinely beaten, arrested or killed for attempting to print the truth about their government.

In the United States, there has been a disturbing tendency in recent years for prosecutors to demand jail sentences for reporters who refuse to reveal their sources, and for judges to acquiesce to these demands. The Bush administration's

Justice Department, a heavily politicized organization as we have come to learn, has issued 65 subpoenas to journalists, far outpacing previous administrations. If reporters are not allowed to protect their sources, then government whistle-blowers will not risk their jobs and come forward with information about misconduct they have witnessed. If reporters are intimidated by government functionaries, it will be more difficult for men and women with spouses and families to meet the needs and demands of their audiences.

The fact that 32 states now have shield laws indicates that they work without inviting abuse. The federal law, called the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007, includes exceptions in which a judge could require a reporter to reveal a source to prevent imminent death or a threat to national security. The latter condition is worrisome as many presidents, including the current one, have used national security as an excuse to protect purely political interests, but any shield law must assume most judges who apply it will have honor and integrity.

Unlike most bills before Congress, the federal shield law has bipartisan support, as it is sponsored in the House by Democrats Rick Boucher and John Conyers and Republicans Mike Pence and Howard Coble, while Democrat Christopher Dodd of neighboring Connecticut and Republican Richard Lugar, both long-time advocates of a shield law, back it in the Senate. The Bush administration's opposition is predictable given a determination to act in secrecy that has offended Washington Democrats and Republicans alike. A federal shield law is in the interests of the public as well as the press, and for that reason it should be made law this session.