Philadelphia Inquirer — Editorial: Journalist Shield Law

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/22/2008 13:40:24
• In: Shield law editorials

Defending the right to know

The Philadelphia Inquirer
August 19, 2008

The recently disclosed snooping by the FBI into journalists' phone records is one more example of why Congress should approve a federal shield law.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III apologized personally to editors at the New York Times and the Washington Post, revealing that agents improperly obtained the phone records of reporters in 2004. Federal investigators obtained the journalists' phone data by making emergency-records demands to telephone companies, apparently as part of a terrorism probe.

The agency hasn't explained why the phone records of the reporters, who were based in Indonesia at the time, were needed. The Justice Department ignored its policy that requires a high-ranking official to approve requests from the FBI to obtain journalists' phone records.

Against this backdrop, the Senate failed before taking its August recess to pass legislation that would protect journalists from revealing their sources in most cases. The House overwhelmingly approved a bill last year, but Senate Republicans blocked a vote in a debate over oil exploration.

A measure sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) should be approved when the Senate returns after Labor Day. It would limit the government's authority to obtain journalists' phone records and call for courts to consider most such requests. The latest Senate bill would make it more difficult than an earlier version for journalists to fight requests based on national-security concerns.

Congress needs to find the right balance in such cases, but lawmakers shouldn't allow that debate to stop the effort to adopt a shield law. The lack of a federal standard discourages a free flow of information to the public and undermines similar state laws.

Then there's the case of former Philadelphia Daily News reporter Toni Locy, who wrote articles for USA Today in 2001 about the government's probe into the anthrax attacks. Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered her to reveal her sources, and when she didn't, the judge fined her up to $5,000 per day.

That kind of action will discourage sources from coming forward. In recent years, anonymous sources have played important roles in revealing public-interest stories such as the shoddy conditions at military hospitals and corporate malfeasance.

A free press is an integral part of a democratic society. The Senate should acknowledge that by approving this legislation next month.