Congress needs to enact a shield law for journalists

[Commentary] President Barack Obama seems to be of two minds when it comes to freedom of information and the role of the press. On his first day in office, he committed his Administration to “creating an unprecedented level of openness in government,” and he proclaimed in a recent address that a free press is essential to democracy. At the same time, Obama’s Administration has conducted the most far-reaching campaign against leaks in recent memory, with twice as many prosecutions as in all previous administrations combined. While both of these ideas may be strongly held by the President, they are coming into conflict.

There’s a need to write into federal law a shield for the news media. Some 49 states and the District of Columbia have established media shield laws or recognized such privileges in court. A good place to start on the federal level is with legislation recently introduced by Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC). While the proposed law would not offer absolute protection, it would introduce a “balancing test” for a court to use before compelling disclosure from a reporter. The test would take into account the public interest in the disclosure and in maintaining the free flow of information. This should restrain overzealous prosecutors from roping journalists into leak prosecutions and sustain the uneasy but essential balance between secrecy and openness.