US: proposed federal shield law could cover bloggers

Posted by John Burke on October 28, 2005 at 11:05 AM

A proposed federal shield law would protect bloggers that gather news, according to one of the bill's author, Congressman Mike Pence. Pence distinguished between those bloggers who merely link to other articles and those who perform the functions of professional journalists.

Pence's statements are contradictory a second supporter of the legislation, Senator Richard Lugar, who said that the proposed law would "probably not" define bloggers as journalists.

Pence admitted that due to the variety of blogs, First Amendment questions would have to be taken up on a "blog by blog" basis.

The Congressman said he was inspired by Judith Miller's stint in jail. "As a conservative, I believe the only real check on government is a free press. And as someone who believes in limited government, I believe nothing is more conservative than promoting and protecting the principle of a free press."

He concluded that the bill is "about protecting the people's right to know.

Sources: Editor and Publisher, journalism.co.uk

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