Bipartisan group of state lawmakers propose journalist shield legislation

~ One of the sticking points is defining who qualifies as a journalist.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to require those seeking to learn the confidential sources of reporters to get a court order first.

Legislation filed in both the House and Senate would require a circuit judge to weigh the public interest, accessibility of the information and any alternatives to compelling journalists to reveal their sources.

Sen. Jason Crowell, who also sponsored a media shield law last year, said Wednesday he believes journalists are key to a free society because they spread important information. He said he imagines a press shield would be an assumed right -- requiring anyone seeking to circumvent it to prove why that shield shouldn't apply.

But critics of the bill, which include Sens. Matt Bartle and Chris Koster, have indicated they have no plans to change their minds.

Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said his bill was killed when Senate leaders referred it to a committee that Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, heads and on which Koster, R-Harrisonville, serves.

"The bill should be debated and should not die through procedural moves or gimmicks as it has," Crowell said.

There are 31 states, plus the District of Columbia, with press shield laws in state courts. Congress has considered adding one to federal courts after several high-profile cases in which reporters faced or served jail time after refusing to reveal sources.

Jean Maneke, a Kansas City attorney representing the Missouri Press Association, said one of the sticking points is defining who qualifies as a journalist.

"It's always a very tricky dance," she said. "We want to cover legitimate journalists, but how do you draw the line for people doing legitimate newsgathering versus others who would grab onto this?"

Maneke said she expected those who write for Internet blogs, freelancers who sell their stories to news outlets and student journalists would be protected by the shield.

Protecting sources

Rep. Tim Jones filed a bill in the House to protect journalists' sources.

Jones, R-Eureka, said making journalists reveal their sources diminishes the reporters' work.

House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, said last year in a letter to the Missouri Press Association that he supported measures that would help journalists keep secret their anonymous sources.

No committee hearings have been scheduled on any of the proposed media shields.

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Shield law bills are HB744, SB58 and SB307

On the Net:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov