States must step up to protect journalist-source confidentiality
AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews
Confidential sources need to know that journalists won’t be forced to out them.
Many sources with newsworthy information can only speak out safely if their names are kept confidential. Journalists need to be able to promise sources confidentiality — and be able to keep those promises without going to jail.
Almost every state has recognized a reporter-source privilege that protects confidential sources and, in some cases, other newsgathering materials. But those laws don’t always stop demands for reporters’ sources, and bad legal decisions can undermine them. We need to strengthen the reporter-source privilege at both the state and federal levels.
Featured Items
-
White House Shield Bill Could Actually Make It Easier For the Government to Get Journalists' Sources
Under fire for the unprecedented Justice Department leak investigation that has engulfed the Associated Press, the White House yesterday asked the Senate to revive the stalled federal shield bill, which would aim to protect reporters from being forced to reveal their sources in many situations. A robust federal shield law …
