Shall we license journalists?
A scary thought is hidden in NBC News president Neil Shapiro’s thoughtful op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal on the need for a federal shield law for journalists. Shapiro compares journalists with psychologists, lawyers and doctors, each of whom have federal protections for confidentiality.
Unfortunately, there is no federal statute that supports the rights of journalists to protect confidential sources. The law provides confidentiality for psychotherapists, lawyers and doctors. It is high time journalists were added to the list. If sources can’t be assured of confidentiality, they will be reluctant to come forward to the press. And if they don’t confide in the press, wrongdoing could remain undisclosed.
Add to that the current war of words between the MSM and the blogosphere over who qualifies as a journalist, and you see the problem.
Journalism isn’t a profession; it’s a trade (or, as Glenn Reynolds says, it’s an activity). Shapiro’s statement, however well intentioned, is evidence of media elitism and doesn’t reflect the reality that we have the First Amendment, and professional licensees don’t.
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 18th, 2004 at 9:14 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
November 23rd, 2004 at 8:34 pm
"Shall we license journalists?" is a hot question everywhere actually and hide deeper questions about what readers really want…