Latest news with #IdahoPressClub
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journalists from being subpoenaed in criminal or civil cases to reveal confidential sources or disclose otherwise unpublished information, including notes or interview recordings.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
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho Legislature introduces bill to protect confidential sources for journalists
The state flags hangs from the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) A new bill introduced in the Idaho Legislature on Wednesday afternoon seeks to protect sources who provide journalists with confidential information. On Wednesday afternoon, the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted unanimously to introduce the new bill, which would create a media shield law in Idaho. Reps. Marco Erickson and Barbara Ehardt, both R-Idaho Falls, sponsored the bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Erickson said Idaho is one of 10 states in the United States that do not have a shield law protecting sources who provide confidential information to journalists. '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. The bill also applies to unpublished information, notes or communications obtained through the newsgathering process. Idaho Press Club President Melissa Davlin said the bill protects news organizations and sources alike. 'The First Amendment protects the right to a free press – our ability to report and hold the powerful accountable, but it is much more difficult to do so if our sources cannot trust that information they give us off-the-record or anonymously or all of our communications are going to be secure and safe,' Davlin said in an interview Wednesday. CONTACT US Last year, was subpoenaed and forced to play a private, off-the-record conversation between a reporter and a source in court. Erickson and Ehardt approached the news organization looking to help, and Davlin got involved as president of the Idaho Press Club. Davlin reached out to the nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for resources and support, and she based Idaho's bill on media shield laws that have been in place in Alabama and Kentucky for decades. Davlin has been involved with the Idaho Press Club for 12 years, and said she has seen a significant recent increase in people and organizations subpoenaing news organizations in an attempt to gain access to private, confidential information that sources share. Davlin also said she has had personal experience with anonymous sources who sought to provide documents for a news story but backed out after becoming worried their confidentiality might not be guaranteed. 'In the last year I have had more newsrooms and more reporters ask me for help quashing subpoenas than the entire time (I have served on the Idaho Press Club board of directors),' Davlin said. 'It has come up in multiple parts of the state and multiple newsrooms, so it's not like there's one bad actor who is sending out subpoenas.' Often, Davlin said it is small, independent local news organizations that are hurt the most by subpoenas seeking the disclosure of confidential information because they do not have the budget to go to court or have an attorney on staff. Although no legislators voted against introducing the new media shield bill, several legislators asked questions Wednesday about how the bill works or whether it is necessary. Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise, said he would like additional information about whether the bill would protect illegitimate organizations that are set up to look and act like legitimate news organizations. Introducing the bill clears the way for it to return to the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee for a full public hearing. The new media shield bill will be assigned a number and publicly posted on the Idaho Legislature's website after it is read across the desk on the floor of the Idaho House, likely on Thursday. Disclosure: The Idaho Capital Sun's journalists are members of the Idaho Press Club. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
