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Daily Star — Support federal shield law

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
August 13, 2008

Our nation's founders, in their great wisdom, decided there was only one profession important enough to the survival of the country to protect in the Constitution.

Yes, the press. Right there in the First Amendment of

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
August 13, 2008

Our nation's founders, in their great wisdom, decided there was only one profession important enough to the survival of the country to protect in the Constitution.

Yes, the press. Right there in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

“Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...”

We can only admire the foresight of our ancestors in guaranteeing future generations this protection from tyrants.

Thomas Jefferson was the subject of hundreds of vile and vicious attacks in what was in those times a very partisan press.

Yet, there is a reason why Jefferson's likeness was carved into Mount Rushmore. Whether it was his authorship of the Declaration of Independence or his foresight in making the Louisiana Purchase, the man was able to see the big picture.

“Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press,” wrote Jefferson to New Yorker John Jay in 1786, “nor that be limited without danger of losing it.”

For a politician to make the following statement is beyond extraordinary.

“The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter,” wrote Jefferson in 1787.

In 1823 _ three years before his death _ his opinion had not changed, as evinced by this letter to Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette

“The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.”

Today, there is another important piece of legislation necessary to keep the waters pure. Passed overwhelmingly by the House and now languishing in the Senate is a federal media shield law that would protect journalists from having to reveal their sources in some federal courts.

Forty-one state attorneys general _ including New York's _ have sent a letter to congressional leaders urging the passage of this Free Flow of Information Act.

Republicans have been able to stall the bill, which is opposed by the Bush administration, but it is likely to be brought up again in September.

In the current political climate, where more and more reporters are being threatened with prison time for protecting their sources, government whistle-blowers could be reluctant to come forward to reveal waste and mismanagement that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Future Watergate-style investigations could be stymied without the shield law, which provides exceptions for anti-terrorism, kidnaping and violent crime cases.

If you agree that where the government is concerned the press should be a watchdog rather than a lapdog, we urge you to contact Congress and the president in support of this very important legislation.

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