By Mark Fitzgerald
Editor & Publisher
Oct. 10, 2005
Excerpt:
According to the first draft of the Free Flow of
Information Act of 2005, the “covered person” protected by the bill’s
terms includes “any entity that disseminates information by print,
broadcast, cable, satellite, mechanical, photographic, electronic, or
other means and that publishes a newspaper, book, magazine, or other
periodical in print or electronic form; operates a radio or television
station (or network of such stations), cable system, or satellite
carrier, or channel or programming service for any such station,
network, system, or carrier; or operates a news agency or wire
service.” The legislation also covers employees, contractors or other
persons who “gathers, edits, photographs, records, prepares, or
disseminates news or information for any such entity.”A key reason some journalists oppose the popular federal shield
proposal is fear that giving Congress the power to define who is and
isn’t a journalist could lead effectively to the licensing of
journalists.In other remarks about the legislation at IAPA’s 61st General Assembly,
Lugar acknowledged that the legislation could amount to a “privilege”
for reporters over other Americans.“I think, very frankly, you can make a case that this is a special boon
for reporters, and certainly for their role in freedom of the press,”
he said. “At the end of the day what we will come out with says there
is something privileged about being a reporter, and being able to
report on something without being thrown into jail.”