Reporter 'shield' measure looks dead

Friday, March 3, 2006

Reporter 'shield' measure looks dead
Bill would keep identity of some sources secret

OLYMPIA -- A bill that would protect the confidentiality of reporters' sources and notes has all but died in the Senate.

Unless members can iron out their differences, House Bill 2452 won't even come up for a vote, said Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane.

Final cutoff for floor votes this session is 5 p.m. today.

"Unless that gets worked out, it's going to be hard to bring it forward," Brown said.

The so-called "shield law," which was requested by Attorney General Rob McKenna, would have allowed reporters to keep the identity of their sources completely secret in testimony in court. It would have given a qualified secrecy for notes and other materials used in news collection, unless those materials were deemed essential evidence in a trial.

The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House last month.

"Compelling the disclosure of confidential sources has a chilling effect on the free flow of information that is so vital to a democratic society," McKenna said in a statement. "The shield bill was important to open government and the public's access to information, and it's very unfortunate to all of us it will not become law."

Concerns came from both sides of the aisle. Some believed the law went too far, whereas others said it didn't go far enough. Senate Judiciary Chairman Adam Kline, D-Seattle, said the bill was a fair compromise, since it only specified absolute privilege for sources, not notes.

Opponents said absolute privilege for sources and reporters would have been greater than that between doctors and patients or lawyers and their clients.

"When an absolute privilege exists ... no judicial balancing of the rights and respective interests of society and the persons involved is permitted," said King County Bar Association President Gary Maehara in an e-mail sent to several House members.

Sen. Brian Weinstein, D-Mercer Island, worried that bloggers and one-time freelancers could be classified as reporters under the legislation. "It could be my daughter's myspace(.com) account," he said. "It's so overboard."

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