EDITORIAL: Trivial Pursuits: A Technical Error Shouldn’t Be Basis for Demise of a Much Needed Journalist Shield Bill in Austin.
By Houston Chronicle
May 23–The 80th session of the Texas Legislature has been a three-ring circus, with embarrassments and missteps galore, starting with the botched revolution against House Speaker Tom Craddick.
One of the most egregious and undignified maneuvers occurred on Monday, when a lawmaker used a minor omission in a bill analysis to waylay legislation at the last minute that would have provided limited protections for journalists seeking to keep their sources confidential.
The bill, titled “The Free Flow of Information Act and sponsored by Houston’s Sen. Rodney Ellis, a Democrat, and Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale, a Republican, had already passed the Senate and was headed for its final legislative hurdle in the House.
Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, acting on behalf of district attorneys who opposed the law, seized on the insertion of a sentence into the bill by committee counsel that was not referenced in the legislative analysis. As a result, the shield law was ruled out of order. Although its supporters have not yet given up on finding an alternate route to consideration, time is running out.
The bill would provide journalists with protections against being subpoenaed by prosecutors to reveal confidential sources except in limited circumstances. It would also require a court hearing where the evidence and necessity for divulging the information would be weighed by a judge and would set out guidelines for jurists to use in reaching their decision. Thirty-three other states and the District of Columbia have similar statutes.
Sen. Ellis expressed disappointment that the effort to pass the shield law had been undercut by such a trivial objection.
“To fight for so long and to move this bill so far and to have it snatched away on something that is completely nonsubstantive is neither good government, nor good for the people of Texas,” he said.
Texas media representatives have argued that a shield law is necessary to make it possible for whistleblowers to share information with journalists without the fear that their identity will later be revealed.
Without an expectation of confidentiality, information vital to the public’s well-being might never get news exposure. In order for a free press to carry out its mission as a watchdog of government, it must not be routinely enlisted as an investigatory arm of the courts and prosecutors.
The state’s reporters and their audiences need a journalist shield law. Judging by the latest shenanigans in the Legislature, we also need more lawmakers committed to debating serious issues seriously, rather than using cheap tricks to thwart the public’s best interests.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Houston Chronicle
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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