Agreement Reached on Federal Shield Law
11/5/2009
On October 30, 2009, the Obama administration and key Senate Democrats reached a tentative agreement with a coalition of more than 70 media organizations on a proposed law to provide greater protections to reporters against being fined or imprisoned if they refused to identify confidential sources in federal court. The bill — dubbed the Free Flow of Information Act — is sponsored by Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and will eventually be merged with a similar media shield bill passed by the House last March. The Senate version has the support of key media organizations like The Associated Press, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Media Law Resource Center. Read more ...
