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Arizona Republic — Protect the source

The Arizona Republic, Phoenix
July 27, 2008

John McCain, Jon Kyl and the rest of the U.S. Senate have an opportunity to ensure that corruption and malfeasance continue to be exposed.

They can do this by supporting the Free Flow of Information Act when it comes up

The Arizona Republic, Phoenix
July 27, 2008

John McCain, Jon Kyl and the rest of the U.S. Senate have an opportunity to ensure that corruption and malfeasance continue to be exposed.

They can do this by supporting the Free Flow of Information Act when it comes up for debate as early as Monday. The bill would shield journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources, with a few common-sense exceptions.

Sources are more likely to risk their careers and blow the whistle on the bad acts of government and corporations if they can trust a promise to keep their identity secret.

That's become a more iffy proposition. Over the past four years, at least 40 reporters have been in danger of being held in contempt for protecting confidential sources. Two were jailed or held in home confinement. Toni Locy, formerly of USA Today, faced fines of $5,000 a day.

One such case is an outrage. But add one after another, and a chill begins to spread. Reporters and their employers become less willing to tackle tough stories. Potential whistle-blowers decide the risks are too great and leave the whistles in their pockets.

The corrupt win. You lose.

A shield law isn't about giving reporters special rights. It's about protecting citizens' ability to hold government accountable.

Confidential sources leak information that someone else wants kept secret for less than noble reasons.

The information reveals a failure by government (Walter Reed), abuse by government (Abu Ghraib) or lying by government (continuing to torture terrorist suspects after assuring Congress the practice was forbidden). Confidential sources were essential to exposing the Enron scandal and steroid use in Major League Baseball.

McCain understands this. He's a co-sponsor. His Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, supports the bill. So do the attorneys general of 42 states. The House passed its version of the bill 398-21.

And then there is Kyl, who has actively sought to derail this bill. He worries that it creates a national security risk. It does not. The bill requires reporters to identify confidential sources to prevent acts of terrorism or other significant harm to national security as well as in other well-defined instances.

The bill lets a judge decide if the threshold has been crossed. Kyl wants to give that power to executive branch officials the same ones who could have a vested interest in keeping corruption or malfeasance under wraps. The judge is the better choice.

A nation in which the people are called upon to govern themselves can thrive only if information flows freely. This bill advances democratic principles. It should become law.

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