Word: shield
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...listed 19 cases it considers unlawful attempts by courts to force disclosure of sources [the Caldwell decision drew a hazy distinction as to how far the courts or government agencies could go to require disclosure of information not pertinent to court proceedings]. And arguments in favor of so-called shield laws have ranged from a full-fledged plea to "Save the First Amendment" by New York Times managing editor A.M. Rosenthal to a detailed justification that most reporters cannot reconstruct their own [illegible] notes after more than 36 or 48 hours. (That is, after all, why most good reporters type...
RECOGNITION OF THE NEED for some sort of shield for the press since the Supreme Court stripped reporters of confidentiality last July has affected legislatures throughout the country. Eighteen states already have shield laws on the books, and at least a dozen others, Massachusetts included, are moving in that direction. The laws vary in scope, and the current debate in this state over absolute versus partial shields is typical. Several bills are coming before Congress this session, with comparable variance of language and terms. The foremost is a two-tiered approach set forth in a bill proposed by Senator Lowell...
...have been passed off in the press as just more reactionary claptrap from the Nixon Court. Newspapers have been content to avoid the issue of elitism, preferring to print long and sincere articles pleading "Save the First Amendment" and mobilizing their libbies in the legislatures behind the passage of "shield" laws...
Effective shield legislation requires immediate enactment. The attitude taken by Senator Bulger only exemplifies the current attitude of far too many legislators: Senator David H. Locke (R-Wellesley): "Those of us in the minority are constantly trying to figure out what your party (the Democrats) are doing." Bulger: "We're trying to protect the newsmen from the Vice President of your party." Locke: "What are you going to do when he's President?" Bulge: "Don't drag me into this...
...Complete Shield...