Bloggers Beware

This page and accompanying video were created in 2006 by students in Professor Nesson's CyberOne class at Harvard Law School.

In the last several years, bloggers have become important contributors to our national conversation. But that contribution is being ignored in Washington, D.C. Congress is debating whether to establish a federal shield law that will protect journalists from having to disclose their sources and news gathering material. But the current version of this bill defines who qualifies as a journalist in such a way that it will exclude anyone who is not affiliated with an established media organization. That means citizen journalists and bloggers are left completely unprotected. In addition, this will be a first step down the dangerous road of creating an exclusive guild of journalists.

There are two options: either we do nothing or we act. If we do nothing, maybe the bill will disappear. Or it passes and marginalizes citizen journalists and bloggers by denying them the protections afforded to journalists who work for large media organizations. If we act, we can encourage our Congressional representatives to change the definition of journalists to include bloggers and citizen journalists within the scope of the shield law. We might also shine a brighter spotlight on the topic of citizen journalism.

So that's the choice: do we do nothing, or do we act?

If you have doubts about whether a shield law is important, maybe you should watch this video:

Click To Play

Act Now!

There are several things you can do to ensure that a federal shield bill is passed that protects all acts of journalism:

1. You can send an email or a letter to the sponsors of the bill. Two congressmen from Indiana are behind this bill. Senator Richard G. Lugar and Representative Mike Pence

2. You can contact the cosponsors of the bill: Sen Biden, Joseph R., Jr. [DE] Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] Sen Domenici, Pete V. [NM] Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI] Sen Graham, Lindsey [SC] Sen Hagel, Chuck [NE] Sen Jeffords, James M. [VT] Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] Sen Obama, Barack [IL] Sen Thune, John [SD]

3. You can contact your representative in Congress and draw his/her attention to the bill.

4. You can contact organizations that support on-line journalists asking them to get involved, such as the Citizen Media Law Project, Online News Association, Center for Citizen Media, and Cyberjournalist.net.

5. You can get your fellow bloggers interested in the topic.

All of the above!

Joshua Wolf v. United States of America

For more information on Josh Wolf, visit his website. Filings in the case are located below.

Wolf's Motion to Quash Subpoena (N.D. Cal., filed Feb. 15, 2006)

Order Denying Motion to Quash (N.D. Cal. April 5, 2006)

Wolf's Answer to Contempt Charges (N.D. Cal., filed July 17, 2006)

American Civil Liberties Union Amicus Curiae Brief (N.D. Cal., filed July 27, 2006)

Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press Amicus Curiae Brief (N.D. Cal., filed July 28, 2006)

Wolf's Reply Memorandum (N.D. Cal., filed July 28, 2006) Wolf's Opening Brief (9th Cir., filed Aug. 11, 2006)

Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press, et al. Amicus Curiae Brief (9th Cir., filed Aug. 11, 2006)

Bail Order (9th Cir. Aug. 31, 2006)

Memorandum Affirming Contempt Order (9th Cir. Sept. 8, 2006)

American Civil Liberties Union Amicus Curiae Brief (9th Cir., filed Oct. 19, 2006)