Slate.com has an article about journalist shield laws. If you don’t know, journalist shield laws are laws that protect journalists from having to tell who their sources are, similar to laws by protecting phsychiatrists from telling certain things about their clients. The topic has become popular recently when two bloggers would not testify against their sources. The case went to the Supreme Court and the bloggers lost. As a blogger and future journalist, the issue bears a little more weight for me. But despite these facts, I have to agree with the Supreme Court’s desicion. We can’t give journalists special rights, because there is no easy distinction between a journalist and an average citizen. If we grant anybody who might be considered a journalist these rights, than almost everybody gets them, which would effectively render our court system useless. While journalists play an important role and they need to feel secure in their ability to write about anything, they need to seek this security through less destructive means.
GeneralMarch 15, 2005 8:59 pm
General 7:55 pm
Blogsome had me scared there for a little while, but it appears to be all right now. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you need to check my blog more often.
I’m putting a cap on my music giveaway contest. The end date is March 30, 2005. If I have any left over songs, they’re going to go to my friend at school.
Having writen out my short story, it now seems really dumb, so I’m not going to post it.
More posts coming within the hour.
