New York – Bill Would Extend Shield Law to Cover Bloggers

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    New York – New York State’s shield law, which protects the right of news reporters to refuse to testify about information obtained through newsgathering, would be extended to “journalist bloggers” under a bill introduced by State Senator Thomas K. Duane and Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, two Manhattan Democrats.

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    The law protects journalists from being compelled to disclose confidential information or sources in state court. (Although most states have a shield law, there is no federal equivalent, an issue that arose during the C.I.A. leak scandal, the investigation into who disclosed the identity of Valerie Plame as a covert intelligence officer.)

    The current shield law protects professional journalists involved with newspapers, magazines, news agencies, press associations, wire services, radio and television; the bill would expand the scope of the law to include “journalist bloggers,” with a blog defined as “a Web site or Web page that contains an online journal containing news, comments and offers hyperlinks provided by the writer.”

    Mr. Duane said in a statement:

    The media is changing, both in content, access and scope. It is important that the laws of New York State reflect the changing landscape of journalism. Enacting this legislation will ensure that those reporters who write for a blog are given the same protections as traditional print or television journalists. If we don’t, we face a chilling effect on free speech and journalists’ ability to aggressively report the news. It is time New York’s shield law reflected the reality of 2009 and acknowledges that blogs do exist.

    Ms. Rosenthal said in a statement:

    New York State has one of the strongest reporters’ shield laws in the country. Yet, although blogs provide news to countless New Yorkers, we still do not extend the protection of the law to blogger journalists. We must remedy this by affording bloggers the same rights that we offer other journalists. I call on my colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to support this legislation and the right to free speech.

    Mr. Duane and Ms. Rosenthal noted that last year, the office of the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, issued a grand jury subpoena to the blog Room 8, which focuses on local politics, in an attempt to determine the identity of several people who blogged anonymously on the site. The subpoena was later withdrawn.

    Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, an organization in Arlington, Va., that defends First Amendment rights of journalists, said she was sympathetic with the bill’s mission but said that using the word “blog” in the language of the proposal might be too broad.

    “Blogging is a technology and a method of delivery,” she said. “Some people are doing valuable journalism when they blog. Others do not. What you are trying to protect is the journalism function, not the technology or the platform.”


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