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Federal Shield (RSS)

Shield Law Slam Dunk

What a day. What an amazing day for journalism and democracy. In a historic, landslide victory, the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007 sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives on a 398 to 21 vote Tuesday, enjoying clear bipartisan support.

Shield Law progresses -- and SPJ was there!

This morning, a proposed federal shield law that would help journalists protect confidential sources sailed out of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 15-2. One of the dissenters: Sen. Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican SPJ members also

Not so over the Hill ...

Random thoughts from last week's whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C.: Your correspondence really does matter. As I zipped in and out of the offices of more than a dozen members of Congress, I heard one thing over and over: they want to know what

Make some noise for a federal shield!

Get busy, people. Broadcast, blog, write -- whatever it takes to draw more public attention to the need for a federal shield law. The Free Flow of Information Act of 2007 is scheduled for reintroduction at 1 p.m. (EST), Wednesday. The U.S.
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Update: Federal Shield Law/FOI Reform

An update from Laurie Babinski of Baker & Hostetler in Washington, D.C., SPJ's legal counsel: As the new Congress settles in and the picture becomes clearer as to how the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate will deal with the federal shield

Reporter battles cancer and a lousy federal court

Carl Jones of Miami New Times recently wrote about the plight of St. Petersburg Times reporter William Levesque, who has cancer, takes eight medications a day and now has to fight a federal subpoena. U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in
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Shield Law hearing summary

SPJ's legal team at Baker Hostetler in Washington, D.C., followed this morning's Senate Judiciary meeting regarding a proposed federal shield law for journalists. These notes recap the discussion and were compiled by Malena Barzilai.     Senate Judiciary
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How to fight for the shield

After you get the background information about the Senate Judiciary Committee's upcoming Sept. 20 hearing on the proposed federal shield law for journalists, do something, darn it! It'll take only a few minutes to write or call your senators. It is
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Showdown for federal shield looms

This just in from Malena Barzilai, one of SPJ's attorneys at Baker Hostetler in Washington, D.C.: The Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on the proposed federal shield law for journalists (Search for the full text of Senate Bill 2831, also known
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