A balanced 'shield law'

[Commentary] After waiting nearly 40 years for Congress to protect journalists' right not to disclose confidential sources, news organizations -- and the public they serve -- can't complain too vociferously about a brief postponement last week of a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on a "shield law" approved by the House in March. Still, the Senate's sluggishness in requiring federal courts to respect a privilege recognized by two-thirds of the states is disappointing. So is the Obama administration's failure to provide support for allowing a judge to decide, in national security cases, whether the public interest in forcing a reporter to violate a vow of confidentiality outweighs the importance of the news-gathering at issue. This "balancing test" in the bill is crucial if prosecutors are to be prevented from exaggerating the harm that will result when a reporter honors such a pledge.