Ann C. Hodges and Ellen DanninMay 23, 2013Truthout

This is the seventh article in Truthout's Judicial Amendment Project series on the history of the National Labor Relations Act. "We are living today with court decisions that have changed the balance of power between unions and employers and that undermine the law's purpose of balancing the power of corporations with the collective power of workers. Little wonder that lockouts are both more common and longer," the authors write.

Fred GrimmMay 23, 2013Miami Herald

The Kochs might discover that grand philosophical ideas nurtured, with their millions, in the Cato Institute don’t quite translate to local newspaper coverage. Local newspapering has less to do with philosophy than with keeping an eye on influence peddlers or worrying about who’s stealing the silverware down at County Hall. The Kochs and their minions can deny global warming and rising sea levels on the editorial pages, but their newsrooms can’t pretend that big chunks of A1A didn’t wash away on Lauderdale beach last fall. There’s nothing theoretical about failing sewers and flooded streets.

Dani FankhauserMay 23, 2013The Content Strategist

In a Q&A, The Content Strategist spoke with Elizabeth Spiers, former editor of The New York Observer, who helped launch Gawker and Flavorwire and now consults with early-stage startups, about how to create strong content and navigate grey areas in the overlap of journalism and brand writing.

Frederick N. RasmussenMay 23, 2013The Baltimore Sun

Praise and happy memories are pouring out for John Richard "Dick" Irwin, a "tough, accurate veteran police reporter with a heart of gold whose signature Police Blotter became required reading for both crime aficionados and the just plain curious," the Sun reports. Irwin, a Guild member until his retirement in 2010, died Wednesday of complications from diabetes.

Andrew BeaujonMay 23, 2013Poynter.org

Denver TV station KDVR, a Fox affiliate, broadcast a story Saturday that claimed an Italian shotgun-company executive “was taken in for questioning by law enforcement” after a taxi driver mistook him for a terrorist. KDVR didn’t speak to the executive, Daniele Perazzi, but to his “U.S. attorney,” In fact, Daniele Perazzi died in 2012. The “incident is devoid of any foundation and the news is completely fabricated,” the company said in a statement. The story was also reported by Examiner.com

Janelle HartmanMay 22, 2013NewsGuild-CWA

The Guild has added its name to supporters of a bipartisan federal shield law bill introduced last week in the U.S. House and promoted during a news conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

House members pushing for the “Free Flow of Information Act of 2013” include Reps. Ted Poe (R-Texas), former broadcast and print journalist Trey Radel (R-Fla.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)

“Democracy cannot exist without a free press,” said Poe, whose staff organized the news conference. “A free press provides critical information to the public, including information about the activity of the federal government. The media’s ability to deliver the news provides a crucial check on government power. Maintaining confidentiality of sources is critical to ensuring the free flow of information without government interference.”

In a statement of support sent to Poe’s office Wednesday, Guild President Bernie Lunzer said, “The Newspaper Guild-CWA is outraged by the DOJ’s surveillance of Associated Press reporters’ phone records. We are gratified that political leaders from both parties stand with us and other media organizations in calling this what it is: a dangerous assault on a free press and democracy itself. But words aren’t enough. We call on Congress to take action in the form of a federal shield law. We add our name to the list of supporters of the Free Flow of Information Act of 2013 and urge its passage.”

Media reports say the bill is similar to measures that the House passed in 2007 and 2009. But neither got enough support in the Senate, which could be a problem now, too.

As reported by Politico, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Tuesday he would bring up a shield law “as soon as possible” but isn’t confident of GOP support. “I wish the Republicans hadn’t blocked the shield law previously, so we’ll bring it up again, and I hope they won’t block it again,” he said.

The bill sets a high bar for the government to compel a journalist to disclose confidential information. Specifically, it states:

“… in any matter arising under Federal law, a Federal entity may not compel a journalist to testify or provide documents related to information obtained or created by the journalist, unless four conditions are met by a preponderance of the evidence and after notice and an opportunity to be heard.

1.    The party seeking production must have exhausted all reasonable alternative sources of the information.

2.    If the privilege pertains to a criminal investigation or prosecution, the party seeking production must have reasonable grounds to believe a crime has occurred and the information sought is critical to the investigation, prosecution, or defense of the case. If it is a civil investigation, the information must be critical to the successful completion of the case.

3.    If the information could reveal the identity of a confidential source, disclosure is only allowed if it is necessary to:

A.   prevent an act of terrorism against the United States or its allies or other significant and specified harm to national security;

B.   prevent imminent death or significant bodily harm; or

C.   identify a person who has disclosed a trade secret actionable under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1831 or 1832; individually identifiable health information as defined in section 1171(6) of the Social Security Act; or nonpublic personal information as defined in section 509(4) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

4.    The party seeking production must prove that the public interest in compelling disclosure outweighs the public interest in gathering or disseminating news or information.

Click here to read the full bill and its section-by-section analysis, as prepared by House staff.

 

StaffMay 22, 2013U.S. House of Representatives

 

H.R. 1962, the “Free Flow of Information Act of 2013”

Section-by-Section Analysis

Sec. 1. Short Title. Section 1 sets forth the short title of the bill as the “Free Flow of Information Act of 2013.”

Sec. 2. Compelled Disclosure from Covered Persons. Section 2 establishes a procedure by which disclosure of confidential information from a journalist may be compelled.

Subsection (a) states that in any matter arising under Federal law, a Federal entity may not compel a journalist to testify or provide documents related to information obtained or created by the journalist, unless four conditions are met by a preponderance of the evidence and after notice and an opportunity to be heard.

1.     The party seeking production must have exhausted all reasonable alternative sources of the information.

2.     If the privilege pertains to a criminal investigation or prosecution, the party seeking production must have reasonable grounds to believe a crime has occurred and the information sought is critical to the investigation, prosecution, or defense of the case. If it is a civil investigation, the information must be critical to the successful completion of the case.

3.     If the information could reveal the identity of a confidential source, disclosure is only allowed if it is necessary to:

A.   prevent an act of terrorism against the United States or its allies or other significant and specified harm to national security;

B.    prevent imminent death or significant bodily harm; or

C.    identify a person who has disclosed a trade secret actionable under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1831 or 1832; individually identifiable health information as defined in section 1171(6) of the Social Security Act; or nonpublic personal information as defined in section 509(4) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

4.     The party seeking production must prove that the public interest in compelling disclosure outweighs the public interest in gathering or disseminating news or information.

Subsection (b) states that the content of any information that can be compelled should not be overbroad, unreasonable or oppressive and, where appropriate, should be limited to the purpose of verifying published information or describing surrounding circumstances relevant to the accuracy of the published information, and be tailored in subject matter and period of time so it is not peripheral, nonessential, or speculative information.

Subsection (c) states that this Act may not be construed to apply to civil defamation, slander or libel claims or defenses under State law, regardless of whether or not the claims or defenses are raised in State or Federal court. In providing for the application of State privilege law to State-law defamation, slander and libel claims or defenses, this section--like the Act as a whole--thus incorporates Federal Rule of Evidence 501, which provides that “with respect to an element of a claim or defense as to which State law supplies the rule of decision, the privilege of a witness, person, government, State, or political subdivision thereof shall be determined in accordance with State law.”

Sec. 3. Compelled Disclosure From Communications Service Providers. Section 3 applies when the Federal entity attempts to get information from a communications service provider (CSP) that relates to a business transaction between the CSP and the covered person.

Subsection (a) states that section 2 applies in the same manner to these transactions. Subsection (a) also clarifies that testimony or documents sought from the CSP of a non-covered person is not protected.

Subsection (b) sets out the procedures for notice and hearing. A court may compel testimony or disclosure of documents only after the covered person has notice of the subpoena (no later than the time the subpoena is issued) and an opportunity to be heard before the disclosure is compelled.

Subsection (c) provides that notice may be delayed if the court determines by clear and convincing evidence that not delaying it would pose a substantial threat to the integrity of a criminal investigation.

Sec. 4. Definitions. Section 4 defines various terms.

1.     “Communications service provider” is defined as a person who transmits information of a customer's choosing by electronic means. The term includes a telecommunications carrier, an information service provider, and an information content provider (as defined in Title 47 of the United States Code).

2.      “Covered person” is defined as a person who, for financial gain or livelihood, is engaged in journalism, including supervisors, employers, parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates of a covered person. The term does not include any person who is a “foreign power” or “agent of a foreign power” as defined in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or any person who is a foreign terrorist organization, designated by the Secretary of State, in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

3.     “Document” is defined to include writings, recordings, and photographs (as defined in the Federal Rules of Evidence).

4.     “Federal entity” is defined as an entity or employee of the judicial or executive branch or an administrative agency with subpoena power.

5.     “Journalism” is defined as “gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news of information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public.”

 

Rebecca Shapiro and Jack MirkinsonMay 22, 2013The Huffington Post

The Justice Department's investigation and surveillance of the Associated Press and Fox News have led to perhaps the most sustained wave of criticism for the Obama administration's media policies since the president took office, Huffington Post reports in a wrap of criticism of the White House. Art: Huffington Post screen shot, Wednesday afternoon.

Jane McManusMay 22, 2013Columbia Journalism Review

With so many tragedies to report in such a short period of time — Newtown, the Boston bombings, Hurricane Sandy, the deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant and others — there seems to be a desire to move straight from the tragic to the silver lining, writes Jane McManus. "A news organization isn’t there to chew your meals for you. Even in difficult reporting conditions like these, it’s perfectly appropriate to let the facts lead the story and allow survivors their own narrative. However messy the stitching."

Gregory J. MillmanMay 22, 2013The Wall Street Journal

The Department of Justice has been criticized for not following its own guidelines when it seized telephone records from the Associated Press without notice, but other government bodies don’t even have such guidelines. Millman writes, "My first-hand experience of this came when agents of the Secret Service appeared at my door in 1991. I was a freelance journalist at the time, and had written a story about a tax issue for a now-defunct magazine called 'Corporate Finance.' Two agents in suits knocked on my back door one autumn day as the children were sitting down to lunch, came in and urged me to identify my sources for the story, in which I had cited an Internal Revenue Service memo. When I refused to identify anyone, the agents told me I could wind up spending five years in prison. I didn’t know at the time that they already had a record of every phone call I had made."

StaffMay 22, 2013Union Plus

The AFL-CIO-Union Plus Dreams of Jobs and Freedom Scholarship is funded by the AFL-CIO and its member unions to help graduating high school seniors realize their dreams of a college education. The scholarships honor the 50th anniversary (Aug. 28) of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. Applications are due by noon, Monday, July 1.

Karen WirsigMay 22, 2013Canadian Media Guild

A former cabinet member who resigned over illegal contributions to his 2011 campaign, a story CBC broke, lost his latest election last week and blamed the public broadcaster for his troubles. CMG's Karen Wirsig writes that, "If there’s a chance this attitude of blame is widespread within his party, the new powers the Conservative government is seeking under Bill C-60 – to sit directly at the CBC management table – are ominous."

Al TompkinsMay 22, 2013Poynter.org

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin thanked her state’s media Tuesday for saving lives with early storm warnings and non-stop coverage of the recovery efforts. “I just want to thank the media for all that you’ve done to help our community get information that’s critical at a time like this,” she said in a press conference. Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb called TV station meterologists “top notch and first-rate" and said the coverage had undoubtedly saved lives.

Dave Meyer and Greg HeberleinMay 22, 2013KPIU Seattle

Into today's difficult environment for newspapers comes "the most successful investor of our age, Warren Buffett," reports Seattle public radio. "Buffett has been buying newspapers like a madman. Yet, even he sees the decline. Print advertising has plunged. Help-wanted ads are down 90 percent in 12 years. But Buffett remains hopeful because newspapers have almost a monopoly on one facet of the business: quality local news coverage. Readers generally don’t buy papers for national and international news, sports, weather and the like. The leading reason is information about their community. Buffett says skimpy local coverage will lead to skimpy readership."

Andrea BauerMay 22, 2013Chicago ReaderWhen the Sun-Times decided to shrink its payroll in 1998 by firing Washington reporter Basil Talbott, former senator Paul Simon and future governor Rod Blagojevich both protested publicly, and Jesse Jackson called the editor of the paper. Jackson said afterward, "I wanted for the record for him to consider the moral consequence, the precedent." Would that work today? The Chicago Reader interviews a labor lawyer who's represented journalists for decades.

Sue OGrockiMay 21, 2013Associated Press

Sue Ogrocki, an Associated Press photographer in Oklahoma and a Guild member, was at Plaza Towers Elementary School on Monday as children were rescued."Parents and neighborhood volunteers stood in a line and passed the rescued children from one set of arms to another, carrying them out of harm's way," she writes. "Adults carried the children through a field littered with shredded pieces of wood, cinder block and insulation to a triage center in a parking lot. They worked quickly and quietly so rescuers could try to hear voices of children trapped beneath the rubble." Art: Screen grab from Tulsa World showing one of Ogrocki's photos.

 

Andrew BeaujonMay 21, 2013Poynter.org

A collection of front pages from Oklahoma newspapers in the aftermath of Monday's deadly tornado. Berry Tramel’s front page story in The Oklahoman compared the tragedy to a tornado that struck Moore on May 3, 1999: “The monster returned,” his piece begins.

Jessica GlazerMay 20, 2013The New York Times

More than 800 people -- mostly men, but a few women -- were in line Monday morning hoping for the slender chance of a union job as an elevator mechanic. Some had camped out since last Wednesday. Every 18 to 20 months, Local 3 of the IBEW accepts 750 applications for 150 to 200 spots in its four-year apprenticeship program. Those who pass a test and are accepted start out making $17 an hour. If they complete the program, which includes college-level classes, they become journey workers, making $35 to $40 an hour with pensions and full medical benefits.

Michael IsikoffMay 20, 2013NBC News

The Justice Department’s secret subpoena for AP phone records included the seizure of records for five reporters' cellphones and three home phones as well as two fax lines, a lawyer for the news organization told NBC News on Monday.

Michael IsikoffMay 20, 2013NBC News

The Justice Department’s secret subpoena for AP phone records included the seizure of records for five reporters' cellphones and three home phones as well as two fax lines, a lawyer for the news organization told NBC News on Monday.