Reporter’s Privilege Extended to New Media

There are currently two proposed bills circulating on Capitol Hill that would extend Reporter’s Privilege to those who “report” news via blogs or other social networking sites.

Reporter’s Privilege is the Federal First Amendment right given to reporters to protect their confidential sources.  Currently there is debate in Congress on whether this privilege should extend to those who regularly gather or report news via blogs and other news gathering websites.

Wikipedia defines a reporter or journalist as one who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren’t biased.  Furthermore, Journalists gather information from sources and are responsible for verifying information gathered.

Applying the above definition, sites like Black Web 2.0, that regularly break news, are clearly entitled to receive Reporter’s Privilege.  These sites regularly report on current events multiple times per day.  The public may go to these sites first to receive news rather than regular news outlet sites.  In addition, these New Media sites receive “exclusives” from anonymous and confidential sources that allows them to publish news before traditional news media.

Thus, extending the Federal Privilege law to New Media sites simply makes sense.  Although New Media reporters may not be affiliated with a recognized or traditional news outlet, their job function and value to the public are essentially the same.