The need for a federal shield law that protects journalists from having to reveal their anonymous sources is more urgent than ever.
The relentless persecution of government whistleblowers by the Obama administration is drying up sources of vital information.
Many are fearful of communicating with journalists, who increasingly are being forced to divulge their anonymous sources.
I blogged about this in more detail today: Federal law protecting anonymous sources urgently needed
The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to recognize a reporter’s privilege in being exempt from disclosing confidential sources. A statutory solution is the only remedy.
The U.S. Senate, which came close to passing a shield law in 2010 got hung up on the issue of who is a journalist?
Senators balked at providing WikiLeaks protection from revealing its sources – and the bill, which had already been approved by the House, died in committee.
It is time to resurrect it.
The New York Times urged this in a July 15 editorial: New Rules Protecting News Media
“Congress should pass a law shielding journalists from government investigators,” the Editorial Board wrote.
It is correct.
The time has come for federal protection for journalists, or the American public will never know what it does NOT know because whistleblowers fear reporters will be compelled to reveal confidential sources.