Media-Sourcing Debate on Deck at Capitol

MEDIA-SOURCING DEBATE ON DECK AT CAPITOL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jess Bravin jess.bravin@wsj.com and Sarah Ellison]
The Bush administration is increasingly at odds with some Republicans over its efforts to make journalists reveal confidential sources. The controversy is reaching a flashpoint in San Francisco, where the Justice Department is expected to file papers today urging that two San Francisco Chronicle reporters face jail if they refuse to reveal their source for confidential grand-jury proceedings concerning baseball slugger Barry Bonds's alleged use of steroids. The issue also is expected to re-emerge on Capitol Hill next year, where two influential Republicans, Sen. Richard Lugar and Rep. Mike Pence, both of Indiana, plan to reintroduce legislation limiting the government's power to force journalists to disclose confidential sources. Many Democrats, whose party will control Congress next year, also support extending protection to reporters' sources and are expected to co-sponsor the legislation. Currently, all states except Wyoming have passed laws or issued court rulings that provide some level of protection for reporters' confidential sources or notes from subpoenas, says Marv Johnson, a legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington. The rationale for the so-called shield laws is that society benefits from aggressive news reporting, a value embodied in the First Amendment. Giving prosecutors or other litigants access to reporters' sources could transform journalists into investigators for the government or private parties, media advocates say, potentially exposing sources to retaliation and thereby impeding public access to news of possible wrongdoing or questionable activities.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116674758240357303.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)