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Submitted by Rob Richards on Thu, 03/02/2006 - 11:02am.

A letter to the editor printed in The Olympian today:

Reporters don’t merit special protections
The editorial “State needs a ‘shield law’

Rob Richards's blog
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Why would anyone give up the

Submitted by Rob Richards on Thu, 03/02/2006 - 11:07am.

Why would anyone give up the constitution for an increased perception of security?

I agree with the author.

Submitted by white feather on Fri, 03/03/2006 - 7:38am.

I agree with the author.

May I ask why?

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 03/03/2006 - 10:15am.

May I ask why?

I'm inclined to say divulging

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Fri, 03/03/2006 - 10:20am.

I'm inclined to say divulging confidential information is not protected speech (actually being the unidentified source).

So I don't know whether or not a Shield Law is protecting something that's not guaranteed.

With that said, I agree with any reporter who has to withhold their source.

I think confidential informat

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 03/03/2006 - 10:54am.

I think confidential information should be leaked and the reporter and her source should be protected, if ,IF, there is a crime taking place. Especially in the top levels of government. It seems that SO much is being kept from us and being labeled classified by this administration, that in order for us to really know what has gone down in certain cases, some classified information is going to have to be revealed. I also want you to take into account the fact that just because the government slaps a classified stamp on something DOES NOT mean that it's some top secret information that is going to empower our enemies and weaken us. They classify everthing. (Clinton should have just had his penis classified and saved everybody a lot of trouble.)

I know that just because some

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Fri, 03/03/2006 - 11:48am.

I know that just because something has the classified label on it it might not be of the utmost importance.

I'm simply saying I don't know whether the First Amendment protects us from spreading otherwise confidential information. I'm not saying we don't need people to leak certain information, I'm simply saying that I don't know whether this type of speech is (or should be) protected.

I think by not having it be protected, the information which is leaked is usually extremely important. Someone has to consider the potential ramifications should they be identified as the source.

If protection is extended to people who leak, I think you will see a lot more leaking done for political purposes (not to say that it's not done already but I think it would be become far more blatant).

I think what's being debated

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 03/03/2006 - 4:57pm.

I think what's being debated is protecting reporters, and I think a reporter, not a leaker, should be protected. If an ethical journalist gets some info that he thinks he shouldn't report on, he either won't at all, or will hold it until he finds out that he can. If someone leaks something for political reasons they should be given up, if they leak something to blow the whistle on corruption they should be protected.

I think any postion that is i

Submitted by white feather on Fri, 03/03/2006 - 5:58pm.

I think any postion that is in a power position needs to be held accoutable. And reporters have been known to report less than the full truth, etc. And clearly reporters/the press have huge power.

We hold our politicians accoutable, our cops accountable, our judges accountable. I think the press needs to be held accoutable, and transparent.

I completely agree that the m

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 03/03/2006 - 11:50pm.

I completely agree that the media needs to be held accountable. I also think, based on my experience and training as a member of the media in the small capacity in which I have served as such, that journalists need to be able to do thier jobs. If they are not allowed the protections that the Constitution provides then we will quickly slip into totalitarianism. The media, as the backbone of democracy, should not be controlled. The people need to have access to dissent, otherwise, what are we left with?

Do you think keeping a secret

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Sat, 03/04/2006 - 8:40am.

Do you think keeping a secret is a Constitutional guarantee?

It's an innocent question because I've been thinking it over since reading this thread and I'm not sure which side I can say I come down on.

I'd like to think that for a

Submitted by Rob Richards on Sat, 03/04/2006 - 9:24am.

I'd like to think that for a journalist, when protecting a source, it is.

There's a difference, though,

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Sat, 03/04/2006 - 9:56am.

There's a difference, though, between something we are protected by in the Constitution and just doing what you believe is right.

I think it's important for members of the media to keep their confidential sources a secret because the source gave information with the expection that they would remain anonymous.

I don't, however, think they're exercising anything guaranteed to us.

The exact wording on speech is or prohibiting the freedom of speech, or the press

Government can't prohibit speech or press.

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