Recovering News Director

Twenty-five years in TV news. It's a tough business. Getting free of it can be even tougher. If you're in the 'biz' you know, it's like a drug you just got to have... Well I was invited out into the 'viewer' world to find I had a whole other life I had been missing out on. This is where I try my best to recognize what makes life worth living... Find the balance between work and life... OK.. OK... from time to time we'll talk about news and its issues as well.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

RTNDA Applauds Passage of a Federal Shield Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 17, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Radio-Television News Directors Association applauds House passage of a federal shield law October 16 to protect journalists from being forced to disclose their confidential sources. The representatives voted by an overwhelming margin of 398 to 21 in favor of the bill. A similar bill in the Senate (S. 1267) was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and is now awaiting a vote by the full Senate. President Bush said yesterday he would veto the bill, but the margin of the House vote is wide enough to override a veto in that body.

RTNDA is the world’s largest professional organization devoted exclusively to electronic journalism. RTNDA represents local and network news professionals in broadcasting, cable and other electronic media in more than 30 countries. For more information, visit www.rtnda.org.

posted by Kevin Osgood @ 1:19 PM  

3 Comments:

  • At 5:01 PM, Blogger Richard Jennings said…

    There are several views on this, you may want to review what Rob Port from Congoo News says about the shield law:

    http://www.congoo.com/user/FullComment?comid=190&Category_ID=-1&Channel_ID=64&Channel=Politics/Law

    I do not know if I agree with the law and I think Bush should Veto it.

     

  • At 8:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Should a reporter go to jail for reporting what someone leaked? Or should the person who leaked it do time?
    If you don't know, I can tell you that not every item leaked to reporters gets reported.
    Reporters are natural skeptics and have a responsibility to consider the implications of what they convey to the people.

     

  • At 9:00 PM, Blogger Kevin Osgood said…

    I get Rob's concerns. No one wants to see this Nation or its citizens hurt by a blunder involving sensitive information. While there may well be unethical reporters out there - the overwhelming majority have strong ethics and (like the previous commenter said)not every leak will become a story.
    Why I think this bill works is it is not a blanket "shield" there are exceptions:
    Requiring journalists to testify to prevent "imminent and actual harm" to national security or "imminent death or significant bodily harm" to individuals.
    Journalists would also be required to reveal sources if such testimony could identify someone who has disclosed significant trade secrets or certain financial or medical information, or if a compelling case can be made that there is an overriding public interest in the disclosure.

     

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