FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Brant Houston, Executive Director, 573-882-2042, brant@ire.org
July 11, 2005
IRE supports federal shield law
Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc., a nonprofit organization of 5,000 members, urges Congress to enact a strong federal shield law to protect journalists, their sources and the public's right to know.
We do not make this recommendation lightly. IRE remains highly concerned about any government intrusion into the newsgathering process, but we join other major journalism organizations in supporting appropriate legislation.
IRE supports legislation that would establish an absolute privilege to protect the confidentiality of sources as a basic rule under these conditions:
- That confidential sources are not pursued for pretextual or political reasons
- That confidential sources are not pursued except in the most serious criminal cases involving direct threats of harm or loss of life and with appropriate procedural safeguards.
We are troubled, however, by any legislation that attempts to define "journalist" in such a way as to exclude independent, freelance journalists and student journalists no matter where they publish or broadcast their work. All of these restrictions place unacceptable limits on the First Amendment guarantee of a free press.
IRE believes a shield law is needed because of the growing incidence of prosecutors subpoenaing journalists' notes, phone bills and related records. IRE also believes a shield law is needed because federal judges are now sending reporters to jail for protecting the identity of confidential sources in cases that raise serious questions about the basis for doing so.
These decisions can have a significant and chilling effect on the public's ability to obtain news because sources of information will remain silent for fear that officials will compel disclosure of a confidential source's identity through government intervention.
Such government actions also deal a severe blow to the public's right to know about what the government is doing, to ensure accountability, and to obtain information necessary to public health and safety and to the democratic process.
First Amendment freedom must carry the right to gather news - and confidential sources have a longstanding role in this process, dating back to the founding of the Republic.
Furthermore, officials' recent actions leave reporters with untenable choices of revealing sources or defying court orders inconsistent with fundamental liberties under the Constitution.
Currently, 31 states and the District of Columbia, recognizing the need for a free press, have passed shield laws. Eighteen states have recognized such protection through court decisions on the basis of common law.
IRE also believes there is a need to protect journalists' third-party records, such as telephone records and e-mail, to the same extent as other material held by journalists. IRE believes the law should establish that journalists should be notified before such subpoenas are issued and be given an opportunity to contest them before the time the records must be turned over.
IRE respects journalists who exercise their right to express themselves under the First Amendment and other Constitutional and fundamental human rights through civil disobedience in the face of government actions - actions that may compromise the oversight responsibilities of a free press.
In particular, IRE stands with The New York Times and Judith Miller and other journalists in opposing government efforts to use reporters as an extension of the legal system by forcing them to divulge the names of sources to whom reporters have promised confidentiality in good faith.
Journalists cannot carry out their watchdog role without the ability to promise sources that their identities will not be revealed. People with knowledge of corruption or abuse would stay silent out of fear of retaliation. If all information came only from official channels, we would, in essence, have a state-run media.
IRE, as an organization dedicated to promoting excellence in journalism, calls upon journalists to exercise the best possible judgment with respect to the use of confidential sources. IRE encourages its members whenever possible to get sources of information on the record, but recognizes that professional journalists and editors must evaluate newsgathering methods on a case-by-case basis.
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