Congress Considers Journalist Shield Law

[Leo The Cleo]

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2009/feb/Congress-Considers-Journalist-Shield-Law.html

New legislation has been introduced in Congress that could protect journalists when they are asked to reveal confidential sources for federal investigations. Most states have “shield laws” similar to the proposed Free Flow of Information Act, but state shield laws offer protection to reporters only when it comes to local and state jurisdictions.

Proponents of a national shield law believe that such protection is necessary for confidential sources to continue providing important information to journalists. Dave Aeikens, president of the Society of Professional Journalists, told Fox News: “The public needs to be able to give information to the media without fear of retribution. We think that too often that the government has been coming to journalists as the first resort rather than the last resort.”

[Mme. Defarge]

1. K&R!

[genna]

2. Who is the NYT reporter who lied about the war because her sources told her IRAQ had weapons?

I think a shield law should be contingent upon whether it is in the public's interest.

1. Whistle blowers - yes
2. CIA operatives covers being blown - not so much, NO


Reporters need to have some public integrity people---ombudsmen---added to their staffs independent of their management teams. If they can't cleave to certain standards of judgement like the Nixon WH journalists had to adhere to, then NO.

Also citizen journalists have to adhere to a certain standards as well. If they get in the game, they should understand the privileges and responsibilities that come with operating beyond the law.

[Jennicut]

3. Exactly, sometime public responsibility comes first over protecting

someone who has done wrong or needs to come clean.

[genna]

6. I am ambivalent on how to best protect those who have done wrong

If the privilege rests the public and not just with the journalism profession, how would a court determine who has the privilege? It makes sense if it rests with Valerie Plame and her identity is concealed, but the subject matter if it is in the public's interest is revealed.


If the identity is a means of embarrassing a public official and has nothing to do with the issue at hand, I think that journalist should be sanctioned by his/her profession. If it is a court determining professional conduct, then it gets a little sticky and brings the public's interest into much sharper focus.

[TahitiNut]

4. Judith Miller peddling Chalabi's propaganda deserves prison.

She's a liar and propagandist, NOT a "journalist."

[genna]

5. Didn't they paint her as a journalist doing jail time for THE CAUSE of not revealing a source?

She was definitely pedaling a Bush line as being objective news.

Whatever happened to her? Did she get her career back after it became obvious that she only used one source for her story?

Or is she now a Fox News journalists?

I am using journalist loosely.