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Tuscaloosa News — Strong national shield law needed
- By: ASNE staff
- On: 03/18/2008 13:22:19
- In: Shield law editorials
The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News
March 18, 2008
Our country needs a strong national shield law for the news media to protect confidential sources, reporters and the public's right to know.
Most states, including Alabama, have media shield laws but there is not one at t
The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News
March 18, 2008
Our country needs a strong national shield law for the news media to protect confidential sources, reporters and the public's right to know.
Most states, including Alabama, have media shield laws but there is not one at the national level. That void allows federal judges to jail reporters who refuse to disclose their sources of information.
The press doesn't like to use anonymous sources and steers away from them whenever possible. But on occasion, there is no other way to get information that is vital to Americans. Some whistle-blowers might lose their jobs if they are disclosed as informants.
In the past, information supplied by anonymous sources has led to key revelations in reporting on the Watergate affair, Iran-Contra, Abu Ghraib, secret CIA prisons and deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Some of these disclosures may have embarrassed President Bush. He has consistently threatened to veto any bill Congress sends him establishing a national media shield law.
Bush opposes legislation being considered in the Senate because he says it poses a threat to national security. However, history has shown that the greater threat to security of Americans is secrecy at the highest levels of government that has led to unconstitutional policies like Bush's program to monitor phone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens without court-issued warrants.
Last October, the U.S. House voted 398-21 for a law that safeguards the confidentiality of reporters' sources in most federal cases. The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved similar legislation. The full Senate hasn't voted yet.
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill are full of loopholes and exceptions. But passage of either would help protect news sources from retaliation. We urge Alabama senators to support a federal shield law.