From the IRE-Listserv

I've copied the entire text as it was posted by Brant Houston on July 7, 2005.

From: IreBrant@aol.com
To:
Date: 7/7/2005 8:27 AM
Subject: Re: [IREPLUS-L] Re: [IRE-L] Judith Miller Ordered to Jail


For list discussion, here are some recent statements and endorsements by other journalism organizations. They include NAA, RTNDA, SPJ, and Reporters Committee and have links to laws and some analysis.

Thanks
Brant Houston
Executive Director
IRE and NICAR


ASNE endorses national shield law
Published: July 06, 2005
Last Updated: July 06, 2005

By an overwhelming majority, the board of directors of the American Society of Newspaper Editors has for the first time voted to endorse the concept of a national shield law for reporters. A national shield law would protect reporters from being forced to reveal confidential sources of information. Thirty-one states already have shield laws.

“The public always benefits from the free flow of information,” said Rick Rodriguez, ASNE president, and executive editor of The Sacramento (California) Bee. “It stands to reason if a reporter thinks he or she will be sent to jail every time sensitive or embarrassing information gets out, there will be a chilling effect on the news gathering process.”

“If journalists must risk jail any time they receive information in confidence, the sources of that information will dry up,” said Andy Alexander, chair of the ASNE Freedom of Information Committee and Washington Bureau chief for Cox Newspapers. “And those confidential sources frequently are brave citizens who have turned to the press as a last resort to expose government corruption or misconduct.”

The resolution approved by the ASNE board states: “RESOLVED that the ASNE Board supports the concept of a federal shield law for reporters as embodied in the “Free Flow of Information Act,” [H.R. 581/S. 340] provided that the final draft of such legislation offers sufficient protection against the compelled disclosure of sources without eroding freedom of the press.”

Rodriguez said a law that protects reporters from having to divulge sources to whom they promised confidentially will help further the public's right to know. “At the same time, we need to police ourselves to make sure that we don't overuse or misuse anonymous sources. It happens far too often and undercuts our credibility,” he added.

The ASNE board took the shield law vote as Time magazine journalist Matthew Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller exhausted their appeals of a contempt of court ruling for protecting their confidential sources. On July 6, Cooper agreed to testify, saying that his source had freed him from their confidentiality agreement. Miller refused to testify and a judge ordered her to be jailed.

“The jailing of Judy Miller highlights the urgent need for Congress to follow the lead of dozens of states and enact a federal shield law," Alexander said. "In the absence of federal protection, an increasing number of journalists will be incarcerated for their ‘crime’ of relying on confidential sources to provide them with information that is helpful to the public. The public is the real loser in this sad saga.”

The American Society of Newspaper Editors, with about 750 members, is the principal organization of American newspaper editors. It is active in a number of areas, including open government, freedom of the press, journalism credibility and ethics, newsroom management, diversity and readership.

For more information contact Kevin Wilcox, kwilcox@asne.org, 703-453-1132.


NAA
NAA and representatives of more than two dozen media organizations and companies have been conducting meetings on Capitol Hill to generate momentum for federal shield law legislation in Congress. While several of our NAA members have contributed to this effort by contacting their senators and representatives, more member communications are needed. NAA members are encouraged to contact their representatives and senators to request that they co-sponsor H.R. 581 and S. 340, respectively.

An analysis of the bill prepared by the Newspaper Association of America is available at http://www.asne.org/files/2005shieldanalysis.pdf



SPJ statement
The decision to jail journalist Judith Miller for refusing to divulge confidential sources illustrates the need for a federal shield law. Learn how you can join the national effort to pass such a law.
The board of directors of the Society of Professional Journalists voted Wednesday, March 9, to back federal shield law legislation.

“A federal shield law has become essential now that prosecutors appear less constrained about hauling journalists before courts and grand juries,” said SPJ President Irwin Gratz, a radio news anchor with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. “Courts are proving little help either, setting aside the partial protections recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in its Branzburg v. Hayes ruling."

NOTE: SPJ also suggests "Visit SPJ's Web site early and often to track the Society's statements and initiatives. ... look for useful resources that will help you ...raise public awareness about the importance of a federal shield law."



December 9, 2004

RTNDA Calls on Congress To Pass Federal Shield Law Protecting Reporters

WASHINGTON--The Board of Directors of the Radio-Television News Directors Association has adopted a resolution in support of a federal shield law. A shield law would protect reporters such as Jim Taricani, who was sentenced today to six months in home confinement for refusing to name a confidential source.

Taricani, a reporter at NBC affiliate WJAR-TV in Providence, RI, was convicted of criminal contempt in federal court November 18 because he would not disclose who had given him an FBI videotape related to an investigation of corruption in his local government.

"Jim Taricani has been placed in this position because the law does not recognize that reporters are obliged to protect the confidentiality of their sources," says Barbara Cochran, RTNDA president. "An increasing number of journalists are facing loss of personal liberty because of their efforts to inform the public of wrongdoing. It is time for a federal shield law to protect reporters like Jim and those facing contempt of court rulings in other ongoing investigations."

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have shield laws. To read RTNDA's call for a federal law, visit www.rtnda.org/foi/shield.shtml.



Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press

Reporters Committee calls for shield law passage in wake of today's D.C. Circuit decision
Feb. 15, 2005


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The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press called for a coordinated effort to support a federal shield law in the wake of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit today that two prominent journalists do not have a privilege to keep sources of information from a federal grand jury.

"The decision in this case underscores that these are perilous times for journalists and the public's right to know," said Reporters Committee Executive Director Lucy Dalglish. "There are more than two dozen cases pending across the United States where journalists are being asked to operate as investigators for the government and litigants. The ability of the media to act as independent sources of information for the public is in jeopardy."

The shield bills current under consideration in Congress were introduced in early February by Reps. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) in the House (H.R. 581), and by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in the Senate (S. 3440). A similar bill was introduced late in the last congress by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), but no action was taken.

http://www.rcfp.org/shields_and_subpoenas.html

This year is shaping up to be a critical year for the reporter's privilege. Both houses of congress are looking at shield law bills, the D.C. Circuit has found no privilege protects journalists before grand juries, and a Rhode Island journalist sat under home confinement for criminal contempt of court for not revealing a source. At least nine journalists face sanctions for refusing to obey court orders to reveal their sources and more may follow.

This page is meant to keep journalists up to date on the federal shield law effort and the other legal controversies involving reporters' subpoenas.