Do shield laws protect all journalists in the United States?

Shield laws are statutes that provide journalists either an absolute or qualified privilege to refuse to disclose sources used or information obtained in the course of news gathering.

Why are state shield laws Of concern to news reporters?

First, because individuals who might provide confidential or sensitive information to journalists are unlikely to do so unless their anonymity can be guaranteed, shield laws are essential to the practice of investigative journalism and thus to the existence of a free press, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Why is shield law important?

A shield law would prevent journalists from being legally compelled to reveal the identities of their confidential sources. It goes without saying, therefore, that reporters are invaluable to the health of a democracy such as ours, and a shield law would facilitate their important work.

Who is protected by federal shield 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 the information and/or sources of information obtained during the news gathering and dissemination process.

What is not protected under shield laws?

The reporter’s shield law contained in the California Constitution prohibits a publisher, editor, reporter, or other person connected with or employed by a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, or by a press association or wire service, from being held in contempt for refusing to disclose the source of …

What protections do shield laws give reporters quizlet?

Shield laws protect journalists’ right to refuse to testify against their sources while gathering information in their role as journalists.

Why are shield laws important to the freedom of the press quizlet?

Why are shield laws important for the press? The shield laws help protect the reporter from having to reveal the source of their information.

What protections do Shield laws give reporters quizlet?

How many states have reporters shield laws?

Today, 39 states and the District of Columbia have shield laws. Courts have provided varying levels of protection in the other states. Alabama’s shield law provides an absolute privilege to journalists working in the fields specified by the statute.

Which of the following is a major difference between the issue of shield laws and the issue of prior restraint?

Shield laws protect journalists’ right to refuse to testify against their sources while gathering information in their role as journalists. On the other hand, the issue of prior restraint arises only in situations in which the president is invoking executive privilege to prevent information from being reviewed.

What rights does the First Amendment not protect?

Obscenity. Fighting words. Defamation (including libel and slander) Child pornography.

Is there a federal shield law for journalists?

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,…

What are shield laws and why do they matter?

Roughly 30 states have passed statutes, called shield laws, allowing journalists to refuse to disclose or testify about confidential or unpublished information, including the identity of sources. The statutes vary significantly from state to state in the scope of their protections.

Is a shield law coming to Congress?

Congress has attempted to pass a federal shield law since 2005, named the Free Flow of Information Act. In 2017, efforts were renewed with another bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. However, the bill was never passed.

Are state legislatures free to fashion their own standards for reporter privilege?

The high court made clear that the state legislatures, like the state courts, were free, “within First Amendment limits, to fashion their own standards” regarding a reporter’s privilege. Seventeen states already had statutory shield laws in place at the time Branzburg was decided.