Citizen-Times — Shield law needed to protect news sources

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/24/2010 16:15:00
• In: Shield law editorials

Ashville Citizen-Times
August 24, 2010

Those familiar with the First Amendment will immediately note the importance our Founding Fathers put on a free press. This wasn’t an idle philosophical exercise on their part. A free press is essential to freedom.

The public’s right to know and access to information is what makes our system of government work. Without reliable information, voters cannot make informed decisions.

In a time when government and corporations have been getting bigger and bigger for decades, that information is harder to get every day. The big guys like to operate behind closed doors, and the big guys are bigger than ever.

They have every interest in making sure decisions that are embarrassing, damaging to the bottom line or outright criminal do not see the light of day. In this environment, reporters often have to rely on whistleblowers who need their anonymity protected.

It is of critical importance that the U.S. Senate pass the “Free Flow of Information Act,’’ SB 448, when it returns from its recess in mid-September.

The Act would shield reporters from being forced by the government to reveal the identities of anonymous sources and whistleblowers, giving the press the freedom it needs and the freedom the Founders intended to investigate illicit activities in the government and corporate world.

The measure, which has been years in the making, takes great pains to protect national security interests. Exceptions include instances when the government is attempting to prevent terrorist attacks.

It’s sad there’s a need for such a measure, but the bottom line is that the press is under assault. A study by a Brigham Young University law professor catalogued more than 3,000 subpoenas against the press nationwide in 2006, including more than 330 issued by federal prosecutors seeking the names of news sources.

For large media businesses, these cases can be an expensive nuisance. They can run smaller outfits like weekly newspapers out of business and have landed some reporters in jail. Given this playing field, the temptation to turn away from stories vital to the public interest is a serious concern.

The shield law will help remedy that. By providing a uniform standard to the patchwork of protections already afforded by 49 states and the District of Columbia, the Act will give reporters a qualified privilege to withhold confidential source information.

The debate over the Act has taken a twist in the wake of the WikiLeaks saga, where 91,000 secret documents regarding the conflict in Afghanistan were leaked. We view this as an apples-and-oranges debate; posting raw data on a web site, without the fact-checking, examination of the possible motivations of the leaker, and an analysis of the potential fallout of the information, is a far cry from journalism.

Journalism is digging into oil disasters, threats to our food system, Watergate, military contractor scandals and a thousand other stories that have occurred when concerned citizens came and blew the whistle.

Yes, the Act is about protecting the press. But more to the point, it’s about protecting all of us.

We’re happy to note that Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C. is a co-sponsor of this bipartisan proposal, which also has the backing of more than 40 state attorneys general and scores of media organizations.

But it needs more help.

SB 448 was approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee. It needs to clear two votes on the Senate floor, one to end debate and one for actual passage of the bill.

That’s where North Carolina’s other Senator, Republican Richard Burr, becomes crucial. We urge Burr, scheduled to meet today with the Citizen-Times editorial board, to help this vote clear the Senate floor.

It will be a stand for the Constitution and for the public.