North (San Diego) County Times: Our not-so-free press

[question everything]

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Our not-so-free press

By: North County Times - Editorial

Our View: Two reporters inched closer to jail Tuesday, reminding us that our open society needs Congress to pass a shield law for journalists that would extend confidentiality protections for news sources similar to those enjoyed by clients of lawyers, priests and doctors.

A three-judge panel ruled that reporters for The New York Times and Time magazine must reveal their sources or face jail time. The reporters were told the identity of a CIA agent by Bush administration officials. Such disclosures may be illegal, and a grand jury wants to know who in the administration "outed" the agent.

(snip)

This case is fairly clear-cut under the Constitution and thus not very important in itself. And yet it highlights a vital issue: A free and open society depends upon a free press. Journalists simply must be able to root out corruption, analyze official decisions, tell embarrassing secrets, and otherwise resist the natural impulse of government officials to sometimes act against the interests of the public.

And a free press is always diminished when government prosecutors are given license to intimidate journalists or chase off their sources.

(snip)

Regardless of the legislative challenges, a federal shield law is essential: We can't know what awful official malfeasance lies unexposed today because a terrified source won't talk to a reporter, or a reporter has simply given up the hunt out of fear of jail time.


http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/02/16/opinion/editorials/23_31_342_15_05.txt

[question everything]

1. Wonder whether today Woodward and Bernstein would have to disclose

the identity of "Deep Throat"