Federal Shield Law Discussed at Connecticut ACLU Forum

By Ricky Campbell

The next step federal lawmakers must take to ensure full and free-flowing information is to enact a national shield law, according to the Connecticut chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The group hosted a panel discussion on the topic recently, with Keith R. Johnson, a former foreign correspondent for Time and senior editor of Fortune, and John Miller, a former writer for NBC Nightly News and the Today show.

Miller recognized the importance of shield laws when Daniel and Philip Berrigan were placed on the FBI’s Top-10 Most Wanted List in 1968 for their elevated celebrity during Vietnam War protests.

The two brothers were interviewed repeatedly by news outlets, which refused to turn them in to the federal government.

Although Miller, who was a former writer for NBC Nightly News, never faced a situation where he needed to protect confidential sources, he pointed to the importance of confidentiality throughout his days in New York.

Johnson told a story of a reporter who was threatened with jail time when Judy Garland sued the author’s publication for libel. According to Johnson, the writer , Marie Torre, served 10 days behind bars for writing a story that called Garland “fat.”

Connecticut has its own form of shield law, protecting reporters who are using confidential sources. But there has yet to be a federal guideline issued. In 2007, Congress attempted a bill, but it never passed.