The Indiana Publisher

Staff Reports News Media Alliance On July 1, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) introduced the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act in the House, which establishes reasonable ground rules for when the gov- ernment can obtain confidential source information from the media and their third-party ser- vice providers. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a similar bill in the Senate on June 28. Groundbreaking investigative stories of government corruption and other wrongdoings would remain unknown – both to the public and to Congress – without information gathered from con- fidential sources by investigative journalists. Actions by the gov- ernment to learn journalists' con- fidential sources undermine the ability of the press, as outlined in the First Amendment, to provide important information to the pub- lic about such transgressions. The legislation introduced now in both the House and Senate would prevent govern- ment overreach in obtaining con- fidential information that would expose anonymous sources and jeopardize the public's right to know, while at the same time enabling law enforcement offi- cials to get the information they need to investigate and prosecute crimes to keep the nation secure. Alliance President and CEO, David Chavern, stated, "We must do more to protect journalists from being forced to reveal confi- dential sources used in investiga- tive reporting, which are often crucial to helping to shed light on important public matters critical to preserving our democracy. We are grateful to Representative Raskin for his leadership in introducing this legislation, as well as Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler for calling attention to the problem of prosecutorial overreach when it comes to seeking source information from reporters." Whether it is the mistreatment of soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, safety prob- lems at nuclear power plants, or reporting on the government's secret and warrantless wiretap- ping program, groundbreaking stories would remain unknown – both to the public and to Congress – without information gathered from confidential sourc- es by investigative journalists. "Our nation's history has shown that confidential sources are often crucial to helping jour- nalists shed light on important public matters critical to a strong democracy," Chavern said. "We are grateful to Sen. Wyden for his leadership on this issue and we look forward to working with him and others in Congress to enact this important legislation." July 2021 Page 3 Statement: Raskin, Wyden introduce federal shield bill The Nina Mason Pul- liam Environmental Journalism Award was created through a grant by the Pulliam Trust to the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation to recognize Indiana journalists for outstanding reporting on environ- mental issues. The award was part of the HSPA Better Newspaper Contest for the first time in 2018. The 2021 recipi- ent will be named along with the other BNC award winners at noon on Friday, July 23 at www.hspa.com. Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust $1,000 Environmental Journalism Award Hoosier State Press Association Foundation PRESS Act establishes ground rules for when government can obtain confidential source information Raskin Wyden

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