As IAPA Debates Shield Law, Some Latin Journos Urge Caution

By: Mark Fitzgerald While the idea of a federal shield law is gaining popularity among U.S. journalists in the wake of the Judith Miller jailing, support is still far from unanimous. It's clear from the discussion at the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) General Assembly that Latin American journalists are divided on the proposal, too.

Roberto Rock of the Mexico City daily El Universal noted to strong applause among the delegates at the assembly Sunday that Mexico's Senate has passed a shield law. The measure, which has yet to be voted upon by the lower chamber of the legislature, would guarantee the right to keep sources confidential not only to journalists, but to priests, doctors, and lawyers as well, Rock said.

Danilo Arbilla, the emeritus editor-in-chief of the Montevideo, Uruguay, weekly Busq?da, said the problem is that journalists must reveal the information they receive from confidential sources, so they are different from priests or doctors. "We are comparing oranges, bitter oranges, and apples when we are comparing journalists to priests," he said.

The proposed U.S. shield law was the focus of a special panel at the 61st General Assembly. Tony Pederson, the former executive editor of the Houston Chronicle, told delegates that he was among those who opposed a shield law until about two years ago.

"It was only after a great deal of anguish and concern about the independence of journalists that I came to the conclusion we need it," he said. For many years since the Supreme Court ruled that reporters have no greater rights than any citizen to refuse to testify before grand juries, prosecutors have had a sort of tacit agreement not to pursue journalists' sources aggressively, Pederson said.

"I think we've skated by pretty good for the last 30 years, and it just cratered in the past two years," he said.

The basic problem, U.S. journalists told the largely Latin American audience, was that prosecutors sense that the news media is no longer held in high esteem by the public.

Jack Fuller, retired president of Tribune Publishing Co., recalled that as editor of the Chicago Tribune he was frequently threatened with legal action by prosecutors who never actually took steps against the paper.

"They worried the public wouldn't stand for it," he said. "But they know [now] the public won't be outraged by it. So more government attorneys and private attorneys think they can get away with it."

While the shield law proposal has been endorsed by some of the nation's biggest newspapers, starting with The New York Times, Pederson noted that many journalists still have reservations about it. They worry that letting the government define who is, and who is not, a journalist will erode the free speech rights of the First Amendment, and they note that what is granted by Congress can also be taken away by Congress.

"By no means is there unanimity in enacting a shield law," he said.

Washington Post Deputy Managing Editor Milton Coleman said his own paper's experience in the Valerie Plame investigation -- in which two Post reporters received subpoenas -- reaffirmed his belief that a shield law is needed.

"We believe the First Amendment already supports our right to protect confidential sources, but the courts have not yet seen it that way," he said.

Both U.S. and Latin American delegates at IAPA noted the irony that the state of press freedom in the United States has become a concern for the association, which is dedicated to defending free expression in the hemisphere.

"One of the wonderful aspects of past meetings was we went through the U.S. report [on free press conditions] in about two minutes," said Octavio Errazuiriz of Diario La Tercera in Santiago, Chile.

Edward Seaton, publisher of the Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury, said the Miller case had been an "embarrassment" to the United States -- especially for its image in Latin America.

"The case prompted [Venezuelan President] Hugo Chavez to justify his repressive treatment of the press by saying that he does not jail journalists like the United States does," Seaton told the IAPA audience.