EDITORIAL

Shield law needed

Some government secrets should remain under wraps

9/24/2013

Some government secrets should remain under wraps. Many others are kept out of view for poor reasons, including extreme caution, rote classification habits, and a lack of recognition that withholding information from the public should be an extraordinary practice.S

One crucial job of a journalist is to look where he is not supposed to, serving as an advocate of the public's right to know and disseminating information that people should see. Revelations about government misconduct, bureaucratic incompetence, and undisclosed programs worthy of public debate are the results.

When the Obama Administration wages an aggressive campaign against leaks or, as in previous administrations, journalists are threatened with or sent to jail because they refuse to give up sources, people think twice about talking, and reporters are deterred from pursuing their mission. It’s past time for Congress to pass a law that protects journalists from being forced to disclose information about their sources, methods, and content of reporting to the government.

This month, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed just such a bill by a 13-5 vote. The Free Flow of Information Act would shield anyone associated or once associated with a news-gathering operation — including freelancers, student reporters, and bloggers — who is working with the intent to convey information about important matters to the public.

In cases that involve criminal activity, federal judges would have to balance the government’s interest in getting information from journalists against the public’s interest in maintaining a free and aggressive press that is capable of obtaining and disseminating information. There would be exceptions for cases in which nondisclosure would directly endanger people’s lives or national security.

Critics say the bill would too narrowly define who is a journalist, potentially leaving out citizen-reporters who dig into important stories. Yet it would also empower judges to extend its protections to anyone, if they determine that doing so would be “in the interest of justice and necessary to protect lawful and legitimate news-gathering activities.”

In other words, the bill would guarantee protections to a wide range of people who meet certain characteristics of journalists. But it also would build flexibility into the system to recognize those who don’t fit neatly into the mold. If the bill became law, judges should not shrink from protecting those who deserve it.

Critics also say the bill is far too weak. It wouldn’t have prevented the Justice Department from seizing Associated Press phone records without the news agency’s knowledge, as the department did last year. But it would have forced investigators to consult a judge before taking the records, instead of deciding internally that they need not tell the AP.

Newspaper industry executives have been lobbying for a journalist “shield law” for years. We hope that after this year, they will not have to.

— Washington Post