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Post-Tribune — Senate should pass U.S. media shield law
- By: ASNE staff
- On: 07/23/2008 17:40:34
- In: Shield law editorials
Post-Tribune, Merrillville, Ind.
July 23, 2008
The U.S. Senate needs to pass the Free Flow Information Act, also known as the federal media shield law.
It would allow journalists to protect confidential sources when those sources keep journalists alert about wr
Post-Tribune, Merrillville, Ind.
July 23, 2008
The U.S. Senate needs to pass the Free Flow Information Act, also known as the federal media shield law.
It would allow journalists to protect confidential sources when those sources keep journalists alert about wrongdoing and malfeasance.
Although 49 states and the District of Columbia have such laws, there is no federal law.
That hinders whistleblowers within the federal government from letting the public know of fraud, waste and criminal activity within the government.
If reporters can be subpoenaed to testify about who their confidential sources are, the government has de facto quashed the public's right to know.
The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a version last year by a vote of 398 to 21.
The presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees -- Barack Obama and John McCain -- have endorsed the bill. McCain became a co-sponsor.
The very few detractors of such a bill -- mostly the White House and the Department of Justice -- say the law would hinder federal investigations and it would put the media above the law.
Their arguments are simply folly.
The government, as we've seen, has vast powers to investigate, subpoena and convict criminals. It does not need to use the private sector -- in this case, media -- to aid it.
Nor does it protect media. If a reporter, editor or producer breaks any law, he or she is subject to the same criminal process as any citizen -- or politician.
What it would do is protect that insider who knows of theft, or fraud or crime and who believes in the patriotic duty to let the public know.
And by using the media, it protects a confidential source from recrimination.