USA Today
June 27, 2006
USA TODAY's editorial in favor of "media shield" legislation, which
would strengthen reporters' ability to protect confidential sources,
misses the point (
"Secret government or a free press?" Our view, Protecting whistle-blowers debate, Thursday).
With the existence of today's bloggers and "new media," everyone is a
reporter. Offering broad protection regarding the anonymity of sources
means that almost no one could be compelled to testify against a
friend. Thus, national security and police work would suffer.
On the other hand, carving out special rights and exemptions for "big
media" but not for bloggers and citizen-journalists is elitist. Even
worse, it is detrimental to the overall goal of fostering broad civic
engagement and increased information flow on an overall basis.
Rob Larimer,
Unionville, Conn.
