Give us an example of why journalists need shield law
Today the Chronicle covers the proposed journalist shield law that we have previously posted on. The story confirms what we were told last week, that state Sen. Rodney Ellis' bill is ready to be voted out of committee:
Filed by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, the bill is expected to be voted out of the jurisprudence committee on Monday and would then be eligible for debate by the full Senate.
It's an interesting story in this context: the editorial board wrote an editorial in favor of this legislation in February, and then, a few weeks later, the paper writes a "news" story on it. To cement that seemingly inverted story progression, today's "news" includes very little dissent:
"We run the very real risk of seeing our reporters and photographers and editors jailed for simply doing their jobs," said Donnis Baggett, publisher of the Bryan-College Station Eagle and legislative chairman of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association and the Texas Press Association. "We are on dangerously thin ice."
[snip]
"(This bill) will safeguard the free flow of information to the public by protecting the rights of journalists to protect their sources and communicate the news without unwarranted intrusion," Ellis said.
[snip]
But Larsen said it has gotten to the point at which reporters are being asked to testify in cases at an increasing frequency.
"Essentially, the district attorneys are trying to make the media an arm of the prosecutor's office," Larsen said. "It puts journalists in the position of having to choose between testifying or jail, and that's a tough decision."
[snip]
"This bill is a moderate, sensible approach to the problem," said David Anderson, a University of Texas law professor. "It's not an absolute privilege, and it's the right way to go about defusing the crisis that has erupted over the last few years."
It would have been helpful at this point if the reporter had included an actual example of "the problem" -- you know, details of a journalist being put in jail for refusing to testify, thereby illustrating "the crisis that has erupted over the last few years."
Because without examples, this story looks suspiciously like an extension of the Chronicle's February editorial.
(HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) RELATED: David Shaw -- Shield Laws Are For Me, Not You (Matt Welch)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/03/05 10:29 AM | Print |
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