12/13/06

News media groups make plea for Texas shield law

By KELLEY SHANNON
Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) -- Texas needs a shield law to protect journalists and encourage whistle-blowers to come forward with information the public needs to know, news media representatives told a legislative committee Wednesday.

"We virtually have no protection at all right now, and the general public is being harmed," said media attorney Laura Lee Prather, testifying for statewide newspaper and broadcast associations.

Under a proposal the news groups call the "Free Flow of Information Act," government agencies generally could not force a journalist to disclose legally obtained information from a confidential or non-confidential source.

"It creates a safe haven for whistle-blowers to come forward and talk to journalists so that the public can find out about government corruption," Prather said. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have a shield law, she said.

But prosecutors said they worried such a law would compromise the secrecy of Texas grand juries and hinder criminal investigations in other ways.

Journalists who witness a crime would be excluded from the protection, Prather said. Exceptions also would be made in criminal cases if all other avenues for gathering the information have been exhausted, if there is reasonable evidence a crime occurred and if the information is material to the case.

Rep. Aaron Pena, an Edinburg Democrat, has filed a bill with those provisions.

The Texas House Judiciary Committee is studying a possible shield law before the 2007 legislative session convenes in January. News industry groups fell short in previous efforts to pass one in Texas.

Wichita County District Attorney Barry Macha said his opposition to a shield law centers around grand juries, where testimony must be kept secret by law.

"It would destroy the grand jury process in our state," said Macha, who with other prosecutors also opposed a shield law in the 2005 Legislature.

It is illegal to leak grand jury testimony, but if someone does and the journalist is shielded from revealing the source, there would be no way to find out who violated the law, Macha said.

Macha also gave examples of how he said prosecutors have been helped by information from journalists in winning convictions.

At one point, the committee's chairman, Republican Rep. Will Hartnett of Dallas, interjected and asked whether the line should be drawn somewhere.

"Do we want prosecutors to be able to go fishing through the files of newspapers and TV stations?" he said.

Macha said fishing expeditions don't happen, and he rejected the idea put forth by news media representatives that some prosecutors have sought information from journalists simply to harass them.

Brad Streit, general manager of KLTV in the Tyler-Longview area, said subpoenas for the television station's video can be cumbersome.

"The more frequent and the greater the distraction, the greater the impact" on his newsroom, he said. Many times the station will readily provide material that is publicly aired, but there needs to be protection if a subpoena seeks a reporter's notes or out-takes, he said.

"It's our editorial process, and not an outside government agency," he said.

Newspaper publisher Bob Barton, who runs small community papers in the Kyle and Buda area near Austin, said information about the public's business could be more easily investigated with a shield law.

He cited as an example his newspaper's investigation into alleged malfeasance at a privately run prison in the area.

Discussions also addressed who would be covered by a shield law.

The proposal backed by the Texas Association of Broadcasters, Texas Daily Newspaper Association and Texas Press Association would set out tasks that must apply for the journalist, including whether the person disseminates information through a news medium or communication service provider, Prather said.

Joel White, past president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and a media lawyer, explained his interpretation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and state court rulings that have affected journalist protections in recent years.

Under questioning by outgoing Rep. Terry Keel, an Austin Republican and former prosecutor, he acknowledged that under existing law attorneys make arguments in court that journalists are entitled to protections from revealing information. But, he said, existing state law is confusion on the subject.

"It needs to be cleaned up," he said.
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On the Net:
Texas House of Representatives: www.house.state.tx.us
Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas: www.foift.org
Texas Daily Newspaper Association: www.tdna.org
Texas Association of Broadcasters: www.tab.org
Texas Press Association: www.texaspress.com