What do shield laws protect?
Shield laws are laws that allow reporters to conceal a source’s identity. Some states, such as Colorado, have statutes that make communications between reporters and informants confidential, allowing reporters to protect the identity of any person who reveals information to them.
What are shield laws quizlet?
What is Shield law? Shield laws give journalists the right to refuse to testify about information or about the identity of sources of information gleaned during the news gathering process.
Why are shield laws important to the freedom of the press quizlet?
Why are shield laws important for the press? The shield laws help protect the reporter from having to reveal the source of their information.
Which of the following is a major difference between the issue of shield laws and the issue of prior restraint?
The Supreme Court has ruled that shield laws are incorporated to the states to decide on their own, while the issue of prior restraint applies only to the federal government. The issue of shield laws does not apply to the federal government because criminal prosecutions occur only at the state level.
Why is shield law important?
A shield law would prevent journalists from being legally compelled to reveal the identities of their confidential sources. Such a law, which would overturn a historic Supreme Court decision, has never gained sufficient traction to pass.
What laws protect the media?
Media Law: Overview In fact, there are numerous state and federal statutes that seek to protect the freedom of the press, such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act.
How many states have shield laws to protect reporters from having to reveal their sources quizlet?
-Today, 39 states and the District of Columbia have shield laws.
Why have some states passed shield laws?
First, because individuals who might provide confidential or sensitive information to journalists are unlikely to do so unless their anonymity can be guaranteed, shield laws are essential to the practice of investigative journalism and thus to the existence of a free press, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Which of the following would most likely be protected by the First Amendment?
The First Amendment restrains only the government. The Supreme Court has interpreted “speech” and “press” broadly as covering not only talking, writing, and printing, but also broadcasting, using the Internet, and other forms of expression.
Why have some states passed shield laws quizlet?
Why have some states passed shield laws? What do the guarantees of freedom of assembly and petitions intend to protect? They intend to protect the people’s right to freedom of speech and beliefs.
Why was the shield law created?
Why are shield laws important for journalists?
What are shield laws and why do they matter?
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, with permission from the Associated Press) Shield laws are statutes that provide journalists either an absolute or qualified privilege to refuse to disclose sources used or information obtained in the course of news gathering. As of 2018, 49 states and the District of Columbia had enacted some form of shield law.
What is the shield law in California?
In California, the shield law is included in the state constitution. Shield laws usually provide either an absolute or qualified privilege, although California’s statute has been interpreted to create immunity against a finding of contempt rather than a privilege per se. Privileges may extend to sources, information, or both.
What is a shield law in journalism?
Shield laws are statutes that provide journalists either an absolute or qualified privilege to refuse to disclose sources used or information obtained in the course of news gathering. As of 2018, 49 states and the District of Columbia had enacted some form of shield law.
Is a shield law coming to Congress?
Congress has attempted to pass a federal shield law since 2005, named the Free Flow of Information Act. In 2017, efforts were renewed with another bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. However, the bill was never passed.