Free Flow of Information Act--too much freedom?

The Free Flow of Information Act, more commonly known as the federal shield law, passed through the House nearly a year ago, but now journalists are speaking out both for the bill and in protest of it. In the Online Journalism Review, Gerry Storch points out what he considers to be one major flaw in the bill as it is now. He presents the very possible scenario of the journalist making a mistake in a story involving confidential sources. He does not believe journalists should be protected in such a situation, and that judges should have the discretion to determine the level of protection in such cases. He tells a story of a "goof-up" (to say the least) at the Los Angeles Times in 2008:

In 2008, the Times was forced to retract a story, and reporter Chuck Philips publicly apologized, after the investigative website Smoking Gun exposed the fact that a jailbird confidential source he had relied on had given him forged documents in the case of an attack on rap star Tupac Shakur in which music executive Sean "Diddy" Combs was implicated.

The story was flat-out wrong and big star Philips ... why, he had won a Pulitzer Prize ... had been duped like the rawest rookie.

Yet if Smoking Gun hadn't been around to help, and if the federal shield bill had been in effect, even someone as powerful as Combs would have been helpless to win redress and clear his name, since he undoubtedly would have been classified as a public figure. He and any other innocent person in a similar situation would have virtually no recourse as the victim of a false, harmful story based on false, harmful information from a shielded confidential source.

Such a story does raise a flag in regard to the federal shield law. Storch makes a point of bringing to attention some potentially serious errors and the consequences they could have on future media cases.

According to the Columbia Missourian, a panel was held last Tuesday at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri about "The Erosion of Press Freedom in North America." During the panel, various journalists discussed the issue of press freedom and privacy, bringing up the current Free Flow of Information Act as well.

"A threat to free press anywhere is a threat to free press everywhere," Alison Bethel, director of the International Press Institute noted. The panelists also discussed protection for bloggers and users of Twitter, Facebook, etc.

"The Internet is changing the definition of privacy...[t]hings you put on Facebook are not private," said panelist Toni Locy, a former USA Today reporter who was charged with contempt of court in 2008 for withholding the identity of a source.

Currently, the Freedom of Information Act has passed the House and has not been amended, but it has not progressed as of yet. In its current condition, it is a matter of controversy among journalists, though its journey is not yet complete. A federal shield law would be a major advancement in the world of journalism, especially in the age of digital journalism, where protection seems so much less absolute and defined. The progression of this bill will be something to watch.

--Alex Boyer