It seems that the "powers that be" are always looking for ways to control what the public reads, sees and hears. Legislation which has received little fanfare is the "Journalist Shield Law," as it's generally known. Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California figure prominently into legislation to protect journalists from disclosing their sources. But is this concept deceptively named? Critics say that reporter-protection legislation now pending is not primarily designed to protect reporters and free speech; rather, it's seen as a covert attempt to define who is a journalist—and who isn't. Sen. Schumer seemingly has journalists' best interests in mind regarding his Free Flow of Information Act—which is his version of the so-called Shield Law concept. According to the website AllGov.com, "The push for such a law received new impetus in May [of 2013] as a result of revelations that the Justice Department had secretly seized the phone records of 20 Associated Press reporters and editors for more than two months and had secretly traced the phone calls and emails of a Fox News reporter." Regarding Schumer's bill, AllGov added: "It would protect reporters and news organizations from being forced by subpoenas or court orders to reveal the identities of confidential sources, unless a judge finds probable cause to believe a crime has been committed and the government has exhausted all other alternatives." Schumer's bill passed thru committee in September and could become the nation's first federal-level "shield law." There are strong concerns that such legislation, if enacted, will become a sword against certain independent journalists if they don't reveal their sources. Apparently, an independent blogger or another kind of citizen reporter who does not meet the federal definition of a "journalist" may be unprotected in cases where a zealous federal government seeks to force the disclosure of confidential sources. Sen. Feinstein, backed by Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, reacted to Schumer's bill by seeking to limit the definition of journalists much more than Schumer would. While Schumer says various kinds of independent journalists should not be excluded from legal protection, Feinstein wants to prevent Schumer's bill from covering organizations like WikiLeaks. That website is well known for providing an online platform with which to reveal previously-secret documents to the public. Feinstein said she's concerned that Schumer's bill "would grant a special privilege to people who aren't really reporters at all [and] who have no professional qualifications." Basically, Feinstein defines journalists as those who earn salaries reporting the news. Evidently, according to Feinstein's legislation along the same lines, if a well-known Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist does volunteer work for WikiLeaks, he or she is suddenly not a journalist. But if a news network pays someone to be on TV, he or she is a journalist. Many states already have laws to protect journalists from being forced to disclose sources and informants. So far, the federal government has shied away from establishing a national standard. Sen. Schumer seems intent on breaking down that barrier. But while Schumer's bill does offer some needed protections for journalists, many argue that it will cause more problems than it solves. All things considered, however, doing nothing is another option. It may be best to avoid complicating the news business by simply deferring to state laws on such matters. Anything the federal government may do in this regard seems destined to run afoul of free speech under the First Amendment—whose first 5 words are "Congress Shall Make No Law . . ." Download your free Next News "Heroes & Villains" Poster here: http://nextnewsnetwork.com/the-2013-heroes-villains-posters Donate USD: http://nnn.is/donate-dollars Donate BTC: http://nnn.is/donate-bitcoin LIVE: http://NextNewsNetwork.com Facebook: http://Facebook.com/NextNewsNet Twitter: http://Twitter.com/NextNewsNet Sub: http://NNN.is/the_new_media Meet the Next News Team: http://youtu.be/2QnNKwQ2WkY Hashtag: #N3 About: Next News Network's WHDT World News program airs daily at 6pm and 11pm Eastern on Comcast, DirecTV and Over-the-Air and Online at http://NNN.is/on-WHDT WHDT World News is available to 6 million viewers from South Beach to Sebastian, Florida and to 2 million viewers in Boston, Massachusetts via WHDN. WHDT broadcasts on RF channel 44 (virtual channel 9) from Palm City and is carried on cable TV channels 44 (SD) and 1044 (HD) by AT&T;, on cable channels 17 (SD) and 438 (HD) in West Palm Beach by Comcast, on satellite channel 44 (SD) in West Palm Beach by DIRECTV, and on WHDN-Boston which broadcasts on RF channel 38 (virtual channel 6) from the Government Center district in downtown Boston. More about WHDT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHDT #DC

• published: 27 Mar 2014
• views: 123