Shield law

A free press is the best check on government power. For too long, a federal government that's supposed to be "of the people, by the people and for the people" has not provided journalists with the protections they need to better uncover abuses and misuses of power.

Congress finally appears ready to provide reporters with something they already enjoy in the majority of states: a shield law.

Shield laws protect journalists from having to identify sources who were promised anonymity in exchange for revealing information for a news story. Sometimes, guaranteeing sources anonymity is the only way reporters can bring information about misdeeds to the public -- revealing their identities could cost them their livelihoods or, worse, their liberty.

But state shield laws don't apply in federal courts. And journalists have learned that they can end up paying a steep price for protecting their sources. Although administrations of both parties have long used threats of retribution to silence leaks and stymie reporters, President George W. Bush effectively declared open season on journalists, using subpoenas to try to extract information from the Fourth Estate. The end goal: scaring news organizations into looking elsewhere for stories.

The Free Flow of Information Act would grant qualified privileges to reporters who withhold the names of sources who provide information in return for promises of anonymity. The bill has passed the House twice in the past two-plus years, but never made it out of the Senate.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up a compromise version of the legislation, which would allow reporters to protect the identities of their sources from federal authorities. Under the bill, reporters still could be compelled to identify their sources if doing so is deemed "essential" to resolving criminal prosecutions or civil litigation, but the federal government or civil plaintiff would have to convince a judge that all other reasonable measures had been taken before shaking down the journalist.

If reporters are protecting sources who provided classified information, a judge could order a journalist to identify a source if doing so would affect national security in a manner that outweighs the benefits of publishing the information.

These exemptions invite further abuse by federal authorities, but the new protections that would be created for reporters represent a significant improvement. The Judiciary Committee should send the Free Flow of Information Act to the full Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada can ensure its passage.