Jackson Sun — Imperfect shield law is still a good start

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 07/31/2008 12:05:04
• In: Shield law editorials

The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun
July 28, 2008

Well, it's better than nothing.

A proposal to finally enact a federal shield law that would protect reporters from having to reveal confidential sources overwhelmingly passed the House last year. In the Senate, it passed the Judiciary Committee by a strong margin. Now, it's time to bring the proposal to the floor for a vote, and the sooner the better.

Shield laws are nothing new. Already, 49 states and the District of Columbia have them. Without a federal law, though, it undermines the state laws and creates a patchwork of inconsistency that's unnecessary.

Clearly, the proposal now under consideration offers far less protection than we would like to see. Reporters would be required to turn over information if those seeking it showed that they had “exhausted all reasonable alternative sources,” that the information was essential to the case and that the disclosure was in the public interest.

In cases of national security, reporters would enjoy even less protection. They could be compelled to reveal sources if a judge found that doing so could prevent a terrorist attack or “other significant harm to national security.”

Still, even though improvements are needed, this proposal is a good place to start and deserves passage. Why? Because without a shield law, reporters will find it harder to do their jobs. What source is going to talk to a reporter if he or she knows that their identity could be revealed in open court? Think of the stories over past decades that would never have seen the light of day without confidential sources.

The Watergate scandal, which toppled a presidency, would have gone unreported. So would have the Abu Ghraib story, which revealed instances of American torture in Iraq.

A shield law is needed to maintain the free flow of information that is essential to reporters doing their jobs correctly. Without the protection a shield law offers, they would be left at the mercy of fickle courts and prosecutors, and it's the public that loses.

This proposed shield law is far from perfect, but it is a start. It deserves to become law.