Santa Cruz Sentinel — As We See It: Federal shield law protects public's interest

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 10/10/2007 15:26:24
• In: Shield law editorials

Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel
Oct. 10, 2007

The movement to enact a federal shield law for journalists took a major step forward in the Senate last week, when the Judiciary Committee approved the proposed legislation.

Known as the Free Flow of Information Act, the legislation offers reporters and their confidential sources a somewhat weaker protection in areas of national security than a similar bill approved by the House Judiciary Committee in August.

Backers of the federal shield law, which grants reporters limited protection against being forced to reveal confidential sources in federal court, will have to navigate opposition from the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, according to a report this week in the Washington Post by Walter Pincus.

California has its own shield law. The bill being considered in Congress applies to federal courts, which have not been supportive in the past of reporters' privilege to keep sources confidential. Court rulings have left journalists vulnerable to federal judges, prosecutors and civil judgments. Some reporters have landed in jail after refusing to cooperate.

The key provision of any shield law is that it protects Americans' right to know what their government is doing. Many whistle-blowers and government insiders would simply not come forward if they knew their identity was going to be revealed and they faced reprisals.

One major issue is defining just who is a journalist. For example, are bloggers covered? The Senate committee bill seems to broadly cover the many facets of journalism, defining such a person as engaged in "the regular gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public."

That would seem to cover reporters working for established news organizations as well as unpaid bloggers.

The Senate bill also lists who would not be covered: Anyone associated with terrorism. Nor would the bill exempt from federal or civil court subpoena any covered journalist who witnessed an alleged crime. It also would not permit the holding back of physical evidence or film, tape or audio recordings of an alleged criminal enterprise.

The federal shield law is no threat to national security. Instead, it upholds vital freedoms of the press and provides protections against government secrecy and zealous federal prosecutors who target reporters who have provided information the government doesn't want disseminated. It also would keep law enforcement from attempting to use journalists as part of their investigations.

The federal shield law is not a blank check that would protect journalists from ever revealing a source. Instead, it allows legitimate news gathering and reporting, while upholding the need to disclose sources or turn over notes when the nation's security is at risk.

In most instances, however, protecting freedom of the press to provide factual information about what the government is doing is more important than forcing a reporter to reveal the name of a source.

Congress should pass the federal shield law.