Brief #5 | Reporter's Privilege

Reporter Shield Laws in America

Reporter’s privilege is something Americans are fortunate enough to have. Countries like North Korea, Uzbekistan, and Burma are some of the most censored countries in the world. Their laws vary, but one thing that is consistent is the government is very controlling about the type of news that is aired and printed. 

In America, reporter’s privilege varies by state. The major changing component is the shield law. Shield laws are rules that allow journalists to have the right to either disclose information or withhold information. There is no federal shield law because of the First Amendment. In 2005, Congress tried to pass a federal shield law called the Free Flow Information Act. This law would protect reporters from punishment for withholding confidential sources in civil or federal cases.

The bill did not pass, but was reintroduced in 2017, but because the Supreme Court recognized that refusing to testify in court could cause problems in certain cases. Also, the Fifth Amendment covers what this bill would do. So, it would just be a reiteration of the same idea. Almost all states have shield laws that protect reporters, excluding Hawaii and Wyoming. 

Those two states do not have any shield laws and the court does not recognize the privilege of reporters and the fact that they might have unknown sources and information. Both states have discussed between themselves about making a bill, but no ideas have been formed. 

There are a couple more states that don’t have shield laws, including Utah, Idaho, Missouri, and a few more. Comparatively, these states’ courts do recognize reporter’s privilege and make exceptions for them, varying case by case. Missouri in particular has expressed that the reason they don’t have any shield laws is the same reason Congress has not passed a federal shield law. 

Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and the rest of the states have shield laws, but these and a few more, in particular, have exceptions pertaining to the various cases and need for information. Arkansas’ law was approved in 1936 and has been revised a couple of times since. In summary, the law allows reporters to withhold information. Judges can overturn the rule depending on the necessity of the information. For the most part, reporters have a lot of wiggle room to avoid doxing their sources. 

Texas actually adopted the Free Flow of Information Act after it was rejected by the federal court. The person who submitted the subpoena has to go through a long process in order to get to the reporter to produce materials or testify. 

The rest of the states such as California, New York, and Arizona all protect reporters in full, with very little wiggle room for courts. Meaning they provide protection to all reporters, with very few exceptions. California’s shield law states that any editor, publisher, reporter, or other person connected with any news outlet “cannot be adjudged in contempt by a judicial, legislative, administrative body, or any other body having the power to issue subpoenas for refusing to disclose,” any information obtained by doing research for any news outlets. New York and Arizona’s shield laws are nearly identical to California’s.