Journalists need this federal 'shield'

[Commentary] The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a proposed Free Flow of Information Act that garnered support from all 10 of the committee's Democrats and three of its eight Republicans. While the bill isn't exactly the legislation we would have written, it would provide considerable protection for journalists who promise confidentiality to their sources in order to obtain and publish information of public concern.

The bill's centerpiece is robust judicial review of attempts by the federal government to force journalists to disclose the identity of anonymous sources or documents they promised to keep confidential. A judge could approve a subpoena if the information being sought was essential to the resolution of a criminal or civil case and the government had exhausted other possible sources for the information. But in doing so, the judge would have to weigh the public interest in compelling disclosure against the public interest in "gathering and disseminating the information or news at issue and maintaining the free flow of information." That balancing act shouldn't be left to the prosecution. Some critics claim that the Senate bill protects only the mainstream media. That's an exaggeration. Ideally, the shield law backed by the Judiciary Committee would be improved in the ways we have suggested. But even in its present form it would represent a victory for both a free press and an informed citizenry.