Blog
Jackson Sun — House should pass federal shield law
- By: ASNE staff
- On: 02/18/2009 14:03:00
- In: Shield law editorials
The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun
February 16, 2009
Members of the U.S. House should pass the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009, this year's version of a federal shield law. It is the right thing to do for both reporters and the public, and it is long overdue.
The legisla
The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun
February 16, 2009
Members of the U.S. House should pass the Free Flow of Information Act of 2009, this year's version of a federal shield law. It is the right thing to do for both reporters and the public, and it is long overdue.
The legislation being sponsored by Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Mike Pence, R-Ind., is the same legislation that overwhelmingly passed in the House last year before dying in the Senate. Under the measure, reporters could not be compelled to disclose a confidential source in federal court. Exceptions to that qualified privilege include national security, terrorism, prevention of bodily harm and eyewitness testimony from a crime scene. Currently, 36 states and the District of Columbia have laws protecting reporters, but there is no federal statute.
There are many reasons for enacting a federal shield law, but chief among them is this: Without it, important channels for gaining information would be closed.
Granted, anonymity should be promised only in the most extreme of cases, when there is literally no other way to get the information. Still, the power to protect sources is an important one if a reporter is to do his job properly. Sources need to know that they can speak freely, without fear of retribution. What source is going to come forward if doing so could get them punished, maybe even thrown in prison? Not very many.
Think of the stories that would never have come to light. The entire Watergate scandal would never have been revealed without the contributions of Deep Throat, the most famous anonymous source of all. That scandal literally brought down a presidency.
In more recent times, the Abu Ghraib prison scandal wouldn't have come to light without the use of anonymous sources.
A shield law is needed to protect reporters from the whims of judges and politicians. It's needed to allow members of the media to do their job fully and to the best of their ability. Part of that job is holding our elected officials accountable.
A federal shield law is long overdue. This bill should be passed and signed into law.