Reporter's shield laws

Declan McCullagh declan at well.com
Sun Aug 26 12:19:28 PDT 2001


On Sun, Aug 26, 2001 at 11:59:35AM -0700, Tim May wrote:
> Don't tar me with that brush, Declan!

Upon rereading your post, I think it was Dave and John that I should
have mentioned, not you. My apologies.

> I made no claims about whether reporters routinely refuse to name their 
> sources. (I did hint that Jeff Gordon, the victim/witness/real 
> prosecutor probably took into account the "can of worms" he would be 
> opening if he sought to compell disclosure of certain things...an 
> implicit reference to the fact that many reporters will refuse to name 
> sources and to disclose things said to them.)

I found the article I was thinking of, saying 13 reporters jailed
in the last two decades:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60300-2001Aug25.html

John, who I admire, seems to think that the government can wave a wand
called "homeland defense" that will cause journalists around the U.S.
to instantly say, "Oh, we must reveal our sources and what they said."
This is, of course, nonsense -- and even insulting to journalists who
take their responsibilities to sources seriously. If I sound a little
peeved, that's why.

> I think John Young would have had a much harder time claiming reporter's 
> privilege. Checking the archives for the period when Bell was trying to 
> track down home addresses of agents should clarify this point. John 
> might have done better to assert 5A rights and make them force the issue 
> by dropping the line of questioning or granting him some form of 
> immunity.

I think you're right on both counts. (While I think John should be
considered a journalist, the public interaction he had with Bell over
the suspected CIA facility would likely make some mainstream
journalism groups like RCFP hesitant to back him.) This is why it
makes sense to talk to an experienced, local, and savvy lawyer before
taking the stand at the prosecutor's behest.

-Declan





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