Media Law Research Assignment: The Professional Realm

Shield Laws
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Shield Laws
Confidentiality is a concept that des not only revolve around the aspects that would generally be considered private, as it also extends to the professional realm. This is especially the case when it comes to journalism. Journalism is based on sharing information. Some of the times the information in question is sensitive. In some of the cases, revealing some of the information sets could easily put the live of a journalist and that of the source (Muller, 2017). Informants are crucial parties in the science and art of gathering information on certain aspects in the society these is information that would not otherwise be readily found through the traditional means of witness accounts. There a complexity that surrounds the element of sharing sensitive information given the implications that may be associated with same at the personal and professional levels for the journalist and the informant.
‘A shield law provides statutory protection for the “reporters’ privilege” — legal rules which protect journalists against the government requiring them to reveal confidential sources or other information.’ (Society of Professional Journalists, 2017)
As such in the safety of the shield, journalists are able to withhold the identity of their sources.
‘The main concern in this case focuses on the compromise on the journalism profession relative to increasing the difficulty of collecting invaluable information on wrongdoing in the society. This is relative to the fact that, some of the witnesses or informants will feel threatened. Sometimes an overzealous prosecutor or law enforcement agency will subpoena a reporter’s notes or the identity of a source to aid an investigation or prosecution. A shield law would allow leakers and sources to feel safe approaching journalists to expose wrongdoing in society, similar to providing priests and psychiatrists the ability to provide some confidentiality to conversations, without concerns that a judge would require their identities or the information to be turned over to the federal government unless under very limited circumstances.’ (Society of Professional Journalists, 2017)
As mentioned above in the quote, where the records of the of a journalist are exposed through the powers of a subpoena, there are chances that lives of the journalist and the source may be in danger. In some of the cases, the information may involve high ranking officials in state offices or in business. As such, relative to the impact of the information on the said parties. The officials involved, may take measures to make sure the case is inadmissible in court (Society of Professional Journalists, 2017). This is a common aspect, where witnesses are killed and their records tampered with to compromise a court case. Where a journalist has ...