Download or read book Journalists, Shield Laws and the First Amendment written by Ulan C. Pracene and published by Nova Novinka. This book was released on 2005 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Absent a statutory or constitutional recognition of journalistic privilege, a reporter may be compelled to testify in legal, administrative, or other governmental proceedings. To date, thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have recognised a journalists' privilege through enactment of press 'shield laws', which protect the relationship between reporters, their source, and sometimes, the information that may be communicated in that relationship. The journalists' privilege is distinct from other recognised privileges, in that the privilege vests only with the journalist, not with the source of the information. This book provides an overview of general trends among the states individual statutes. It also presents the full text of the state shield statutes and the First Amendment.