Roanoke Times — Shield Americans' access to the truth

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 07/16/2007 16:35:55
• In: Shield law editorials

Sometimes it takes an anonymous source for the truth to come out.

The Roanoke (Va.) Times
June 19, 2007

Suppose the head of the U.S. General Services Administration abuses her position to aid Republican candidates and urges her staff to do the same. And suppose investigators document that violation of the Hatch Act. That is something the public should know, so someone leaks the report to the media.

One need not suppose. The GSA head's name is Lurita Doan, but the leaker's identity remains a mystery. The Bush administration, no doubt, would very much like to know who that person is as it conducts damage control in the unfolding tale.

Administration officials could find out, too, if they wanted to haul reporters into court.

The threat of exposure hangs over all anonymous sources, discouraging them from reporting abuses and chilling the flow of information between government and the public.

Southwest Virginia's Rep. Rick Boucher hopes to change that. He is sponsoring a bill that would shield journalists from federal sanction for protecting their sources. In other words, a court could not send a reporter to jail for keeping a source's name secret.

The administration, as one should expect after years of secrecy, hates the idea and opposes the so-called "shield law." Similar to laws in two-thirds of states -- Virginia not among them -- the federal version would guarantee journalists do not have to give up their confidential sources just because the information they received embarrassed officials.

The protection is not universal. The bill includes sensible exceptions to prevent "imminent and actual" harm to national security as well as death or bodily harm.

Its most challenging provision is determining who counts as a reporter. The bill presents a reasonable definition of journalism, but administration officials fret that it is too broad and would cover bloggers.

Like it or not, bloggers represent the cutting edge of one flavor of journalism. They deserve protection as much as anyone else who reports the news. As with many laws, the precise intent of Congress will no doubt be fought in the courts and the definition of journalist clarified. With new technology and forms of online journalism appearing frequently, that ongoing legal dialogue would be healthy.

The bill talks about journalists, but it is really about all Americans and holding government accountable. Congressional leadership should shepherd it to passage and force the administration to decide if it truly wants its legacy to be keeping the public in the dark.