More On Sheild Laws

A big, big “Thank You” To David Diaz over at Edinburg Politics for giving me the scoop on a Sheild Law measure proffered by Rep. Aaron Peña, (D-Edinburg), a fellow blogger, last session which does provide more protection for online journalists such as bloggers.

David tells me that the legislation will be submitted again this session.

David was also kind enough to send along a post he made about the measure last session, with permission to reproduce it. Here are some important excerpts:

A measure filed Friday by Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, would establish in Texas a broad definition for “journalist” and provide thousands of Texans, for the first time, the limited right to avoid revealing their unnamed news sources to the government without fear of going to jail for contempt of court.

However, “journalists” would have to disclose any information, document, or item obtained as a result of their eyewitness observation of criminal or tortious conduct, including any physical evidence or visual or audio recording of the observed conduct.
Although Texas does not have a statutory “shield law,” which would be the result of Peña’s legislation, reporters currently can argue in court that they are protected under the First Amendment, the Texas Constitution, and common law when facing subpoenas to reveal their news sources or give up their research materials.

Peña’s measure would add this third level of protection for “journalists.”

In addition, the definition of “journalist” contained in Peña’s proposal is worded broadly enough to include online-journalists, the new wave of writers who are not traditional print and broadcast reporters because they use the internet to make their own brand of news stories and editorials available to the general public.

Peña’s House Bill 188 defines “journalist” as “a person, or an employee, independent contractor, or agent of that person, engaged in the business of gathering, compiling, writing, editing, photographing, recording, or processing information for dissemination by any news medium.

‘News medium’ means a person who in the ordinary course of business publishes, broadcasts, or otherwise disseminates news by print, television, radio, or other electronic means accessible to the public.’”

According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, none of the 31 states and the District of Columbia which do have reporters shield laws specifically extend those protections to people, known as Web journalists, who generate and create news through the internet.

If Rep. Peña does in fact re-introduce this legislation, it sounds like something Bloggers need to consider carefully.

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