Buffalo News — Approve the shield law

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 08/18/2010 16:29:00
• In: Shield law editorials

Senate’s delay threatens passage of crucial measure on confidentiality

The Buffalo (N.Y.) News
August 12, 2010

The U. S. Senate is dragging its feet on approving a federal shield law. If it doesn’t move quickly, the opportunity to enact this crucial measure may be lost.

The proposed law, the product of years of painstaking research and compromise, would protect reporters from having to reveal the identities of confidential sources except in certain circumstances. The bill, which provides exceptions on matters including terrorism and national security, has bipartisan support. It has already been approved in the House. It was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in December and is ready for final action.

And there it sits. Americans have the best chance in decades to ensure that they can get the truth out of their government, but because of the congressional and political calendars, the window may soon close.

Getting to the facts of how government operates –what it does, what it fails to do, the deals it makes, the corners it cuts does not always come easily. Politicians and bureaucrats just like the rest of usdon’t want their secrets told.

Sources who tell reporters about what is really going on may risk their careers or even their freedom. They won’t speak if they think a reporter, who may be threatened with jail, won’t keep their identities secret. And government of the people, by the people and for the people goes by the boards.

Forty-nine states, including New York, have shield laws. They understand that a vigorous press is not only valuable to a democracy, but essential to it. That’s why the profession of journalism is the only one protected by the Constitution. Washington, thus far, doesn’t understandat least not officially. While broad support exists for a federal shield law, the law remains out of reach. It’s time for senators to get serious.

As a practical matter, Congress must presume that it has only until January to get this done. November’s election could change the support levels for this law and make it significantly more difficult to pass.

Meanwhile, the legislative calendar is filling up. The most opportune time to pass this bill is in the three weeks after the August recess but before Congress irrevocably turns its attention to the November elections. The Senate needs to approve the Free Flow of Information Act in that period. Members need to carve out floor time for discussion, support a “cloture” vote to end debate and then, finally, vote yes.

It’s time to get this done. The bill has been debated and shaped and compromised into a form that significant majorities of interest groups and legislators can support.

Call the vote.