Another federal shield law proposed

Federal lawmakers once more are trying to pass a shield law protecting journalists.

Congressmen Rick Boucher (R-Va.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) last Wednesday (May 1) introduced the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007, reports John Eggerton in Broadcasting & Cable magazine.

"Similar bills have been introduced before," he writes. "but that was in a Republican-controlled Congress and with opposition from the Bush administration."

The new bill "sets criteria which must be met before information can be subpoenaed from reporters in any federal criminal or civil matter," say the Republican Representatives, adding that it "carefully balances the public interest in the free flow of information against the public interest in compelled testimony."

For the full article, check it out here -- http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6438391.html