Shield law protects public’s best interest

Nobody wants to talk to journalists.

Sure, if the question said journalist asks involves a press release or some sort of accolade – something the answerer of these questions wants to talk about – then people open up and toot their own horns with enough wind to power the whole state of Delaware for a week. But that’s what press releases are for. They are documents of invitation for journalists to come listen to a self-horn-tooting session and then distribute the information to the public.

But that’s not what journalism is for.

Certainly, many individuals and groups deserve recognition for their respective accomplishments in a public forum. But that’s easy. Anybody can do that.

In pursuing the kinds of stories parallel with the most important purpose of journalism, nobody wants to talk to journalists. For those involved in all the problems of the world, journalists are a threat – people to ignore and lie to.

The point we’re trying to make is that in the world of journalism, not unlike any other human endeavor, doing a good job is tough. Real tough.

Many obstacles can impede journalists from collecting pertinent information. Some of these obstacles are in place for good reason. Others are not. Some of these obstacles are created by the spheres journalism aims to better through publishing of the truth.

One of these latter obstacles, one of these bulkheads stanching the flow of truth and justice and the American people’s right to know, is currently on its deathbed.

The U.S. Senate reached an agreement Friday to pass legislation, already ushered through the House, to protect the secrecy of the anonymous sources of journalists.

The bill calls for a judge to weigh the government’s interest in prosecuting the confidential leaker of information with the public’s interest in knowing said information. If the public’s best interest wins, the journalist and source are safe from subpoenas and prosecution.

Journalism serves a purpose in our society. As a whole, it talks about things most don’t want to talk about. To wield the power of journalism to its highest incarnation, its form most charged with purpose, is to use it as a tool to expose social ills, governmental foul play, and alert the public of other various nasties otherwise swept under the carpet. Whether or not our organization and other organizations fulfill this purpose in the proper fashion is another story for another day -- but something we’d love to chat about with all of you.

Without journalism, we fall back into the collective social conscience of feudalism, barbarianism, the days of cavemen getting away with whatever they can get away with as long as someone physically stronger isn’t within eye- or earshot.

The proposed bill protects journalists and sources, but in the grander scheme, it eases the flow of information to the public by removing at least one legitimate excuse to talk to journalists.

Now, whistleblowers and leakers shouldn’t be as apprehensive when disclosing important information of interest to the public. While the bill isn’t perfect from a journalist’s standpoint, it’s still a stride toward an American press more free.