...reporters, and journalists with the right to refuse to reveal their sources if required in a court. Journalists that had refused to go against to their profession’s trust have been jailed and fined. Shield laws are a mechanism to protect the journalist, in some way, against punishment for refusing to disclose confidentiality of sources. Even though shield laws have been enacted in 37 states, they vary from state to state. In this paper, some sensitive topics will be covered, taking the case of Branzburg v. Hayes as a base for the analysis. Branzburg v. Hayes Background This case considers that reporters are to be held to the same standards as other citizens, which would subject them to grand jury testimony. The petitioner claimed that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution gives the reporters the protection of keeping confidentiality of their sources of information. The reporter at the Courier-Letter in Louisville, Kentucky, and one of the petitioners Paul Branzburg, wrote two articles about drug use in this state. The first article, written in 1969, covered the drug use...
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...The Journalists' Right to Protect News Sources Jessica L. Graham JRN 410 Journalism Law Michael Angelo May 18, 2014 The Journalists' Right to Protect News Sources The Bill of Rights, written by James Madison, was established because the America people, from the beginning, demanded assurances that their inherent freedoms would be protected. Yet, the American people have consistently disputed the extent to which the First Amendment applies. Does the freedom to report the news also include the freedom to gather it and protect the source of their information? Laws will consistently attempt a compromise to initiate equilibrium but it is absurd to assume any law will give 100 percent protection. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances,” − The First Amendment to the United States Constitution (Bill of Rights Transcript Text, n.d.). The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states sources should be identified whenever possible and it is very important his or her motives are clarified before publication of the material. A journalist should also confirm and attribute the information of the source before relying on the information (Society of Professional Journalists, 1996-2010). Confidential sources should only be used as...
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...“This is hardly an issue that matters only to journalists. Many watchdog stories important to the American people depend on confidential sources, people who would put themselves or their jobs in danger if they were identified.” When a source has a journalist’s promise their name will not be public, some groundbreaking stories can be written. With additional backing of a federal shield law, more people might be willing to come forward and be part of watchdog stories. However journalists historically do not have an absolute privilege in protecting their sources. Branzburg v. Hayes (1972) was the first and only time the Supreme Court ruled on reporter’s privilege. Branzburg, a reporter for the Courier-Journal of Louisville, witnessed individuals manufacturing hashish. The reporter wrote two stories about drug use in Kentucky using anonymous sources that admitted to using marijuana. When subpoenaed by a local grand Branzburg refused to comply and was held in contempt. The Court found that the First Amendment was not a protection for reporters. Notes from Associate Justice Lewis Powell indicate he did not want to extend this privilege to journalist because “newsmen” would be hard to define. As a result, multiple states have done exactly that- attempted to define who is and who is not a journalist to implement some degree of protection and allow for a free flow of information when discussing sensitive subjects. Justice Powell probably could not have imagined just how hard it would...
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...Jeffrey Sterling was hired by the US Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) as a “case officer” and worked for them for about 10 years until he was fired because he wasn’t meeting performance targets. During the exit interviews, he refused to sign the paper, stating that he would not disclose state secrets. Before this dismissal, Sterling submitted drafts of his memoirs to the CIAs Publication Review Board for editing. When sterling saw that his memoir was heavily censored he said that he will be “coming at [them] … with everything at his disposal” (US v. Sterling, 724 F.3d 482 (2013)) A short time after this Sterling had a few conversations with journalist James Risen who wrote an article about Sterling for the New York Times but it wasn’t published due to state security reasons. After this article, Risen published a book that described Sterling’s work and was based on his interview with the journalist. After the publication of the book Sterling was indicted by a grand jury for the “unauthorized retention and disclosure of national defense information” (case) The government issued a subpoena for Risen, who filed the filed the motion for a protective order under reporter’s privileges law. The motion was partially granted, holding that while Risen can be forced to testify, the elected testimony could only be about the...
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