A bill proposed to the Texas House of Representatives aims to ensure a reporter’s privilege to withhold anonymous sources in court in the name of preserving a free and active press and the public’s right to information.
Similar legislation has already been adopted by 36 other states, but Texas law provides no such protections.
Pending in the Committee of Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence, House Bill 670, authored by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, provides a definition of who qualifies as a journalist and the extent to which a journalist may be protected.
Under the bill, a journalist may not have to testify concerning confidential information and anonymous sources used in the reporting process.
However, the bill provides limited protection for journalists, balancing the societal interest of public information and “the right to effective law enforcement.”
Under the bill, journalists can still be forced to testify if all other reasonable efforts to obtain the information from another source have been exhausted and the interest of the subpoenaing party outweighs the public’s interests for gathering and disseminating news.
Clinical journalism professor Wanda Cash said the bill is important for both reporters and citizens who have knowledge of wrongdoing by officials that may be of public importance.
“What people need to understand is that it’s not just about reporters,” she said. “It’s about insuring that the public can come to reporters [and] give them information without fear of retribution.”
Fear of jeopardizing their employment, reputation or even safety may be reasons why sources may ask for confidentiality, Cash said.
“If a member of the public knows that something is going on, sometimes it’s easier for them to come to a reporter,” Cash said. “If a reporter can promise those sources that they will protect their anonymity, then they feel confident that they can bring them that information.”
Concerns can arise when authoring such a bill, said associate journalism professor Robert Jensen.
Because journalists are not licensed by the government, like doctors and lawyers, establishing who is a journalist can be difficult. The potential for anonymous sources to abuse such a law could make passing the bill complicated, he said.
Jensen used as an example the case of Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter sentenced to jail for not revealing a confidential source who leaked the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Jensen said the case exemplified abuse of the privilege because a political operative leaked the name for his own political agenda. Cases like these make passing the bill complicated and often dependent on context, he said.
Paul Watler, a Dallas attorney, said the passage of a qualified privilege for journalists would not hinder his ability to prosecute.
“In my practice, I represent journalists, newspapers and broadcasters, and I think it would be an important protection to bring forward stories that often involve government corruption,” Watler said.
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