Shield Bill Impasse Appears Resolved: Bloggers To Get Protection
Schumer, Specter Release New Version Of Legislation
John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 10/30/2009 2:02:58 PM
A new version of a federal shield law has been released by Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) that apparently breaks the logjam and could pave the way for a vote on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill provides journalists a limited protection from having to give up their sources to the feds.
Among the changes to the Free Flow of Information Act are preserving a public interest balancing test in most cases, though with a carveout for "leaks with the potential for prospective harms. It also removes a requirement that those covered by the shield be salaried employees or independent contractors for a particular media organization. That should mean the bill will cover freelancers and bloggers.
According to the senators, who co-sponsored the bill, and indepednently confirmed by a broadcast source with knowledge of the negotiations, the language is acceptable to both the White House and media organizations.
The revisions are, according to a joint announcement from both senators' offices:
1. "[I]in cases where the government is attempting to compel the disclosure of information, continues to require a demonstration that the information is "essential" to the prosecution or defense in criminal cases;
2 [P]eserv[ing] a public interest balancing test for criminal and civil cases and in most leak cases (other than leaks with the potential for prospective harms).
3. [R]evisit[ing] the change made to the definition of journalist in the September 24 Manager's Amendment by removing the requirement that the journalist be a salaried employee or independent contractor for a media organization. This should permit freelance authors to be covered, and it also provides the potential for journalists publishing on blogs to be covered as well. "
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