It's not about us keeping our reporters out of jail so much as you keeping access to information. [...]

The "Free Flow of Information Act," introduced in the U.S. Senate on May 18, would do at the federal level what laws in Montana and dozens of other states do at the state level -- protect reporters from government coercion to reveal the identity of confidential sources. This is a moderate bill that balances the public's right to know with legitimate criminal investigation needs and national security. There's no blanket immunity for reporters called to testify, and we aren't arguing there should be. But the legislation at least tries to differentiate between disclosures that are merely embarrassing or politically damaging to the government and those that present real and present dangers to national security. The law also includes a provision requiring reporters to testify about crimes to which they're a witness and to reveal sources when, in a judge's opinion, the information is necessary to prevent death or physical harm.