If a source requests to remain anonymous, the reporter has a duty — backed by the Shield Laws — to keep that source’s identity a secret. Janet Winter, a Fox News reporter, now faces jail time for refusing to reveal her source. Winter is responsible for breaking the story about shooter James Holmes’ journal containing premeditated details about the theater massacre that took place in July 2012. The journal was sent to a University of Colorado psychiatrist before the shooting. She cited unnamed law enforcement officials in her story, “EXCLUSIVE: Movie massacre suspect sent chilling notebook to psychiatrist before attack.”
Colorado’s less stringent Shield Law allows Holmes’ defense to claim that the information Winter withholds hinders their client’s right to a fair trial. Without consistent, universal Shield Laws, lawyers can continue to trample not only the rights of journalists, but also the rights of the anonymous sources.
If Winter reveals her sources, she compromises the integrity of her news outlet. If Winter folds, she successfully destroys any chance for the media to speak to that source again. If one journalist breaks his or her promise of anonymity, any source in the future could think his or her identity is unprotected and might not reveal vital information to the media. Holmes’ defense lawyers cannot suppress reporters’ rights to provide the people and the judges accurate information.
Winter’s fate could be determined by how emotionally charged the subject of the Aurora shooting is. The defense lawyers can use the constant national coverage as a platform to aid their defense. By doing so, the defense is smothering Winter’s rights and her sources’ rights to freedom of speech.
Shield Laws vary from state to state. If Winter faces jail time in Colorado for not revealing her source(s), then Colorado has among the weakest Shield Laws in the nation. By nationalizing the policy, the integrity of journalists can remain constant while traveling over borders. Journalists should know their rights, but they should not have to memorize how to gather information differently in Indiana or New York. A National Shield Law guarantees the well-being of anonymous sources and ensures the quality of news gathered by journalists.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
