SHIELD LAW UPDATE….This is why I think we need a federal shield law for reporters. Unfortunately, it’s also why we’re not likely to get one.
Let me say this flatly: Leaks are good. They are the way we hold paranoid and secretive governments accountable. Historically, leaks have virtually never harmed national security in even a minor way, despite plenty of shrill commentary to the contrary. Reporters should be allowed to print them without fear of being tossed in jail.
If the Bush administration succeeds in changing this tradition ? and tradition is all it is at the moment ? we will all have lost a very great deal.
