NO BLOGGER OR CITIZEN JOURNALIST WELCOME.

Why Did Sen. Schumer Attempt To Limit The Press Shield Law?

The U.S. Congress has been working all year on the development of a federal shield law, which would offer journalists a "qualified privilege against disclosing the identity of sources and turning over information obtained or created in the course of newsgathering." The long-sought protection would allow journalists to work with whistle-blowers and anonymous sources free of the fear that they could be compelled, at the threat of prosecution and punishment, to disclose the identity of such sources.
But now, thanks to an amendment put forward by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in the Senate Judiciary Committee, a boundary line has been drawn around who shall be shielded, and everyone who plies their journalistic trade as an independent blogger or a citizen journalist has ended up on the wrong side of that line.
Why on Earth did Schumer do this? Schumer's spokespeople were not available for comment. But I've been taking a look at the matter, and from my vantage point, what seems to be at work here is an effort to find common ground between a Justice Department that does not want to expend its resources extending blanket protection to all journalistic entities, and powerful corporate media interests who don't want to expend their dwindling resources keeping their reporters out of the stir. Schumer's amendment creates this common ground by putting up a big sign that reads: NO BLOGGER OR CITIZEN JOURNALIST WELCOME. LinkHere

White House Proposes Changes in Bill Protecting Reporters’ Confidentiality

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has told lawmakers that it opposes legislation that could protect reporters from being imprisoned if they refuse to disclose confidential sources who leak material about national security, according to several people involved with the negotiations.
The administration this week sent to Congress sweeping revisions to a “media shield” bill that would significantly weaken its protections against forcing reporters to testify.
The bill includes safeguards that would require prosecutors to exhaust other methods for finding the source of the information before subpoenaing a reporter, and would balance investigators’ interests with “the public interest in gathering news and maintaining the free flow of information.”
But under the administration’s proposal, such procedures would not apply to leaks of a matter deemed to cause “significant” harm to national security. Moreover, judges would be instructed to be deferential to executive branch assertions about whether a leak caused or was likely to cause such harm, according to officials familiar with the proposal.
The two Democratic senators who have been prime sponsors of the legislation, Charles E. Schumer of New York and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said on Wednesday that they were disappointed by the administration’s position. LinkHere