THE FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION ACT..

7/20/06 - C-SPAN REPLAY SEN. HEARING ON NSA SPYING AND
THE FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION ACT..
FIRST FEW MINUTES UPDATE ON MIDDLE EAST CRISIS
THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS ABOUT A
CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS !!!!
AUDIO:
http://www.apfn.net/pogo/L002I060729-nsa-spying.MP3

INTRODUCTION OF FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION ACT OF 2005
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2005/s340.html
______

HON. RICK BOUCHER

of virginia

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to join with my
colleague from Indiana, Mr. Pence, in introducing the Free Flow of
Information Act, legislation which will advance the public's right of
access to information of broad public interest.
Our measure addresses an increasingly common problem. Last year, 12
reporters were threatened with jail sentences in federal courts for
refusing to reveal confidential news sources. Reporters rely on the
ability to assure confidentiality to sources in order to deliver news
to the public. The ability of news reporters to assure confidentiality
to sources is fundamental to their ability to deliver news on highly
contentious matters of broad public interest. Without the promise of
confidentiality, many sources would not provide information to
reporters, and the public would suffer from the resulting lack of
information.
Thirty-one states and Washington, DC, currently have statutes
protecting reporters from compelled disclosure of sources of
information. It is time to provide similar protections in the federal
courts.
I have long believed that the Freedom of the Press provision of the
first amendment should be interpreted by the courts to empower
reporters to refrain from revealing their sources. Since the courts
have not found this privilege to attend the first amendment, a
statutory grant of the privilege has become necessary.
In deciding to introduce this measure, I have concluded that the
public's right to know should outweigh the more narrow interest in the
administration of justice in a particular federal case. In fact, in
many instances the critical information which first alerts federal
prosecutors to conduct justifying a criminal proceeding or first alerts
civil litigants to facts giving rise to a private cause of action is
contained in a news story which could only have been reported upon
assurance of anonymity to the news source.
I commend my colleague Mr. Pence for his leadership on this measure
and look forward to working with him to obtain rapid approval of the
bill in the House.

____________________

Congressional Record: February 2, 2005 (House)
Page H290-H291

THE FREE FLOW OF INFOMATION ACT. H. R. 581

To maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions for the federally compelled disclosure of information by certain persons connected with the news media.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2005/s340.html#hr581

GOOGLE NEWS UPDATES:
Results 1 - 10 of about 839 for Free Flow of Information Act.

July 28, 2006
Drop the shield

Is the press now just another special interest looking our for its own?

A pair of Indiana lawmakers face a steep uphill climb for passage of a bill to shield reporters from having to disclose news sources, but it is a cause worthy of the struggle.

The Free Flow of Information Act, sponsored by Sen. Richard Lugar and Rep. Mike Pence, both Republicans, limits instances in which reporters could be forced to reveal sources.

Sorry, the First Amendment is for everybody, not just reporters. When the press sets itself apart from the people it woud chronicle, it deserves the disdain those people have for it. And how can the press be the "Fourth Estate," acting as a watchdog of the government, when it lets the government define who and who is not a reporter?
http://blogs.fortwayne.com/opening_arguments/2006/07/drop_the_shield.html