Latest news with #HouseBill158
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho becomes the 41st state to protect journalists, sources
As part of a journalism class I teach at Boise State University, one chapter is dedicated to law and ethics. In that chapter, we talk about 'shield laws,' which are laws meant to protect journalists from being subpoenaed in criminal or civil cases to reveal confidential sources or disclose otherwise unpublished information, including notes or interview recordings. The idea behind a shield law is to protect the activity of news-gathering and to ensure the freedom of the press, a freedom that the founding fathers recognized as so important to the republic that they put it in the very first amendment to the Constitution. Every semester, I tell my students that Idaho is one of just 10 states that doesn't have a shield law enshrined in law. This semester will be different. Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Thursday signed House Bill 158, a media source shield law, which passed both the House and the Senate unanimously. I have to admit that the Press Club for years has had trepidation about suggesting a shield law because there are a lot of Idaho legislators who are not friendly and even outright hostile to the media, and the idea that they would pass something to help journalists and sources seemed far-fetched. But a few things came together this session. First, you might note that the bill is a 'media source shield law,' emphasis on 'source.' I think a lot of legislators recognized that the bill protects sources who wish to remain anonymous, that a judge can't compel a journalist to disclose an anonymous source. And some legislators saw that as being in their self-interest, as many of them have been anonymous sources themselves. I'm on the Idaho Press Club board and am the chairman of the club's First Amendment Committee. Idaho Press Club president Melissa Davlin and I had been working with Don Day of BoiseDev to push back against a subpoena BoiseDev had received in a lawsuit. We co-wrote a letter to the judge urging him to deny the subpoena. I know Don will never let me forget this, but at one point I suggested that getting held in contempt of court and going to jail would be good publicity for BoiseDev. Fortunately, it didn't come to that. But at the same time, Press Club member Nate Sunderland of East Idaho News let us know that they've been subpoenaed a few times, and it was a major problem. I can't tell you how many times we said, 'We really need a shield law in Idaho.' Sunderland ended up writing about East Idaho News' experience of getting dragged into the middle of a defamation lawsuit when it was served a subpoena that demanded the website turn over all of its notes, drafts and communication related to a news article, as well as all recordings made with one of the subjects in the case. To their tremendous credit, Reps. Barbara Ehardt and Marco Erickson, both R-Idaho Falls, read Nate's column and got involved. Ehardt and Erickson worked with Davlin to bring forward the shield law in very short order. I wasn't sure what the chances of passage were, but I was blown away when it passed both chambers unanimously. Just the threat of being subpoenaed can be a scary thing, and actually being subpoenaed, even if you prevail, takes a toll financially, mentally, and in terms of time and resources. It takes away from the real work journalists should be performing, and bad actors could subpoena journalists they don't like. A huge thank you to Ehardt and Erickson, Davlin and the Idaho Press Club's lobbyist, Ken Burgess, for working on this and making Idaho the 41st state to have a shield law on the books. I can't wait to tell my students all about it. Scott McIntosh is the opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman. You can email him at smcintosh@ or call him at 208-377-6202. Sign up for the free weekly email newsletter The Idaho Way .
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho will have journalism shield law, after Gov. Little signs bill
Idaho Gov. Brad Little is interviewed by KTVB reporter Joe Parris after the governor delivered his State of the State address in the House chambers of the Idaho Statehouse on Jan. 6, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Idaho will become the 41st state with a media shield law, protecting sources who provide confidential information or documents to journalists. Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 158 into law Thursday morning, the governor's office's Communications Director Emily Callihan told the Idaho Capital Sun. The governor's office plans to hold a signing ceremony with partners involved in the bill, she said. The Idaho Legislature unanimously passed the bill this year, following a rise in legal threats that sought to force journalists to reveal their sources. Idaho is one of 10 states without a journalism shield law, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Idaho's new media shield law takes effect July 1. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Idaho Press Club President Melissa Davlin wrote the bill based on language in laws in Kentucky and Alabama. 'Too many Gem State newsrooms have had to spend time and resources fighting subpoenas that would force them to betray their sources' trust under threat of fines or jail time,' she told the Idaho Capital Sun in a written statement after the Legislature passed the bill. 'The Idaho Press Club is grateful that lawmakers saw the need for this change, and we thank our legislative sponsors for their help getting this to the governor's desk. Idaho, like the rest of America, needs a strong press corps, and this shield law will help reporters focus on their work instead of costly and stressful legal proceedings.' The bill states: 'No person engaged in journalistic activities shall be compelled to disclose in any legal proceeding, trial before any court, or before any jury the source of any information procured or obtained and published in a newspaper, print publication, digital news outlet, or by a radio or television broadcasting station with which the person is engaged or employed or with which the person is connected.' Disclosure: The Idaho Capital Sun's journalists are members of the Idaho Press Club. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho Legislature unanimously passes media shield law bill protecting journalists' sources
Idaho Gov. Brad Little gives his annual State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2025, on the House floor at the Statehouse in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Both chambers of the Idaho Legislature — on unanimous, bipartisan votes — passed a bill that would create a media shield law protecting sources who provide confidential information or documents to journalists. Mirroring the Idaho House's swift, bipartisan vote of support, the Idaho Senate passed House Bill 158 without debate or opposition Tuesday. Supporters say the bill would help combat frivolous lawsuits, and provide protections similar to whistleblower protections available in existing state and federal laws. 'No person engaged in journalistic activities shall be compelled to disclose in any legal proceeding, trial before any court, or before any jury the source of any information procured or obtained and published in a newspaper, print publication, digital news outlet, or by a radio or television broadcasting station with which the person is engaged or employed or with which the person is connected,' the bill states. Idaho Legislature introduces bill to protect confidential sources for journalists The bill now heads to Idaho Gov. Brad Little for final consideration. Idaho is one of 10 states without a journalism shield law, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. 'In Idaho, there's been a growing use by the legal system to … in some cases we call 'weaponize' these lawsuits,' Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls, told the Idaho Senate. 'And one that's become more and more evident is against reporters — to have them or make them reveal their sources. Of course, that has a significant chilling effect on the ability for them and our free press to operate.' Idaho Press Club President Melissa Davlin, who wrote the bill based on laws in Kentucky and Alabama, called it a 'great day for journalism in Idaho.' 'Too many Gem State newsrooms have had to spend time and resources fighting subpoenas that would force them to betray their sources' trust under threat of fines or jail time,' she told the Idaho Capital Sun in a written statement. 'The Idaho Press Club is grateful that lawmakers saw the need for this change, and we thank our legislative sponsors for their help getting this to the governor's desk. Idaho, like the rest of America, needs a strong press corps, and this shield law will help reporters focus on their work instead of costly and stressful legal proceedings.' When the bill is transmitted to the governor's desk, he has five days — excluding Sundays — to decide how to act on it. He has three options: He can sign the bill into law, allow it to become law without his signature, or veto it. Disclosure: The Idaho Capital Sun's journalists are members of the Idaho Press Club. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho House unanimously passes media shield law bill protecting journalists' sources
The Idaho House of Representatives in session at the State Capitol building in Boise on Jan. 23, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho House of Representatives on Tuesday threw bipartisan, unanimous support behind a bill that would create a media shield law protecting sources who provide confidential information or documents to journalists. Without any debate, the Idaho House voted 69-0 to pass House Bill 158. The bill states, 'No person engaged in journalistic activities shall be compelled to disclose in any legal proceeding, trial before any court, or before any jury the source of any information procured or obtained and published in a newspaper, print publication, digital news outlet, or by a radio or television broadcasting station with which the person is engaged or employed or with which the person is connected.' Supporters said the bill would help combat frivolous lawsuits and provide protections similar to whistleblower protections available in existing state and federal laws. Rep. Barbara Ehardt, an Idaho Falls Republican who co-sponsored the bill, said without a media shield law, journalists could be forced to reveal the identity of confidential sources or risk being found in contempt of court, fined or even jailed. 'The only thing right now protecting or stopping a journalist from revealing their sources is their own personal ethics,' Ehardt said. 'Many have gone to jail,' Ehardt added. 'They've been sent to jail, and they sat there at their own (volation) trying to protect the sources. And at some point, that's not right.' The bill's other co-sponsor, Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls, said Idaho is one of 10 states without a shield law protecting sources who provide confidential information to journalists. House Bill 158 heads next to the Idaho Senate for consideration. If a majority of members of the Idaho Senate vote to pass the bill, it would head to Gov. Brad Little for final consideration. Once a bill reaches his desk, Little may sign it into law, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature. Disclosure: Idaho Capital Sun journalists are members of the Idaho Press Club, which drafted and advocated for the passage of the media shield law bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho bill to protect journalists' sources advances. Number of subpoenas has risen
An Idaho House committee on Wednesday advanced a bill that would protect journalists from having to identify sources or turn over notes and other unpublished material during legal proceedings. Idaho is one of 10 states that doesn't have a so-called shield law on the books, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. House Bill 158, which now heads to the floor with a do-pass recommendation, could change that. 'What we have in front of us is a suggested law that would protect sources. Sources, not journalists,' said co-sponsor Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls. 'Idaho's media outlets are facing an increasingly growing number of subpoenas.' The U.S. Supreme Court, in Branzburg v. Hayes, ruled that requiring journalists to testify to grand juries and reveal confidential information wasn't a First Amendment infringement on freedom of the press, according to Oyez, an archive of cases. Ben Olson, the co-owner and publisher of the Sandpoint Reader, has personal experience with subpoenas, he told the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee. In 2018, he published an article identifying a man who was distributing racist propaganda. Olson said there were robocalls calling him a cancer, he said, amid a campaign of harassment. The FCC wanted to fine Scott Rhodes millions of dollars for the malicious robocalls, according to previous Statesman reporting. One of the calls that mentioned Olson was included in the FCC's complaint, and he was then subpoenaed by Rhodes, he said. 'It was an attempt to further harass me and potentially harass the sources that spoke with me,' Olson said. 'We have a staff of three people, myself included, and we don't have the means or the time to fight frivolous subpoenas.' He was lucky, Olson told the committee Wednesday. A lawyer represented him pro bono and the subpoena was quashed. Others haven't been so fortunate. Nate Sunderland, the editor of East Idaho News, said he was forced by subpoena to testify in a defamation case between an attorney and a businessman. The attorney had provided a quote about a criminal case to the outlet, Sunderland said, and the businessman assumed it was about him. East Idaho News spent almost two years and a lot of money fighting the subpoena, but ultimately lost. 'As journalists, we believe the conversations between sources and reporters are private, until the decision is made to publish on-the-record statements in an article or broadcast,' Sunderland said. 'We need to ensure that our sources and our conversations are inherently private.'
