Shield
- Federal shield statute. Nope. There is no federal shield law, despite many attempts by the Society of Professional Journalists and others to get one passed. State constitutions and common law. In some places, journalists can claim a privilege based on the state constitution, and in other places, journalists can claim one based on state common law.
- A shield law is legislation designed to protect reporters' privilege. This privilege involves the right of news reporters to refuse to testify as to information and/or sources of information obtained during the news gathering and dissemination process. Currently the U.S. federal government has not enacted any national shield laws, but most of the 50 states do have shield laws or other protections for reporters in place.
- A shield law is necessary to protect U.S. journalists. 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.
- Shield laws are meant to help investigative journalists do their work, but significant loopholes remain.
- Journalist shield laws, which afford news reporters the privilege to protect their sources, are controversial because the privilege must be balanced against a variety of competing government interests such as the right of the government to apprehend criminals and to prevent the impairment of Grand Jury investigations.
- Journalists lobbied the Vermont Legislature to pass the so-called shield law, which will protect journalists from revealing confidential sources, such as whistleblowers, in court.
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