Wikileaks

Despite the complaints of blogger-critics, new federal shield bill is last best chance for meaningful protection of reporters’ confidential sources.

For the first time since the post-Watergate era, the stars are aligned for Congress to enact–and for the President to sign–a “Shield Law” that would provide meaningful protection against the forced-exposure of journalists’ confidential sources. Although nearly all states have shield laws, they do not apply to the subpoenas of federal courts and federal grand juries: a big gap in coverage that inevitably restricts news reporting on controversial matters involving the federal government. News of

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Government’s dangerous crackdown on whistle-blowers

In a New York Times op-ed, two esteemed First Amendment advocates argue that the Private Bradley Manning case underscores a grave threat to the press and public — no matter what you think of Manning’s judgment when he released volumes of documents to WikiLeaks. While attorney Floyd Abrams argues that Manning acted carelessly, Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler asserts that Manning behaved much like Daniel Ellsberg, who famously released the Pentagon Papers — secret documents

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The role of leaks in a democracy

Government struggles to protect its secrets; the media struggle to expose government excess. It’s a delicate dance, and an essential one in a democracy, says the New York Times’ public editor. While the administration has an obligation to protect the national security, the public has a right and need to know about prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and justification for drone killings, among other things, she says. So the chilling effect of the Obama administration’s

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Opinion: Great need for Wikileaks

An editorial that suggests in all the media coverage of Assange’s legal problems, “it’s easy to lose sight of all Wikileaks has accomplished.” Read the story on Gigaom: Why Wikileaks is worth defending despite all its flaws    

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