right now dianne feinstein other members the US Senator trying to define the word
Press now bill press
the press as in the first amendment to the press that's mention the first lie
in the first member the Constitution
and no matter how well-intentioned their plan
maybe this could backfire badly
mean to be paying attention to this you know the question what is journalism
and I'm was stored Potter other former US Supreme Court Justice
who I think in the Linda Lovelace
deepthroat case any way back in the day said
to I can define porn but I know when I see it
same thing with journalism when news first broke back in May
that the justice department was grabbing hold the record the phone records VP
reporters and attract the movements have
Fox News is James Rosen it was actually a really great time for congress to try
to pass some strong protections basically shield laws
for freedom of the press that thing that
the first constitution first amend the Constitution
says he is in necessary for the
I should necessary for free state is the second member but you get
I mean you can't have you know a free country without a free press
and the public was outraged
about what the essay was all up to and
big-name senators from both parties Chuck Schumer from New York Democrat
South Carolina's Republican Lindsey Graham they were all
sane we need to have laws to protect
journalists from prosecution and now that bipartisan push for a media shield
law has
shall we say he has snagged and thats snag
is senators like california's dianne feinstein who don't think the bloggers
and tweeters should have the first
Amendment protections the same first member texan's
that reporters who work for Fox in your times have
and
this is a really big deal this is a really important thing that we all need
to be paying attention to and you'd need to be
talking to your members have above congress about
right now in its current form the senate's media shield law
requires the Justice Department to give any journalist
in their organization a 45-day heads up when they want to snoop on
and a journalist according to the pending bill
is anyone who has and I quote from the legislation
a primary intent to investigate events and procure material
end quote sounds very simple right
well not for that so much for dianne feinstein
california senator told her colleagues earlier this month that she's worried
that the word
journalist is so vague it
that this proposed media shield law could quote provide special privileges
to those who are not reporters at all
apparently in senator Feinstein's opinion real reporters have salaries in
other words they work for
official news agencies recognized by the washington establishment
sacrifice I want to make sure that the senate's media shield law doesn't save
wiki leaks from prosecution but if Congress were to limit media shell
protections only to
paid journalists that would mean that any number a blogger's
like Glenn Greenwald tweeters independent citizen journalists
any of them could be prosecuted by the Federal G
government for talking to a source to a
whistleblower just cuz they don't take home a paycheck and that is wrong
journalism is not a profession and journalism is not a person
it's an act
anyone who comments on the news anyone to cultivate sources anyone who breaks a
story about
government or corporate corruption
that person is engaging in an act a journalism
Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said about pornography that he knew
it when he sought
in my opinion the same goes for journalism me know when you see it
sounds big but it's true the idea of journalism as an
act and not as a just as a profession is especially relevant to today
his with the rise of the Internet and digital journalism
pretty much anyone was the party the prowess
can be part of the press you wanna be a reporter fine
star Twitter account I mean you gotta go out and find something to report on
but you can call yourself a reporter in a lot of people do
you don't need a college degree you don't need to have gone to J school
you just need good news sent some hard work
so if the purpose %uh the press is to inform the public
then bloggers and Twitter users and frankly even wiki leaks
fit the bill they may not get paid for what they do what they do is an
essential part
I love the democratic process to essential part
a check essentially and the powers a government it's the fourth estate it's
the fourth
the the before the unofficial fourth branch of government and its essential
to American liberty
rated stinger others in a pen a freelance blogs and organizations from
you know wiki leaks to you name
truth out are arguably even better news sources than traditional media outlets
because they are not compromised by corporate sponsors and they're open to
anyone who can break a story
I mean just consider how seriously the founders took this the Constitution
mentions only one
industry by name and that industry is the press
for the founding fathers there was no institution more important for
democratic society than a free and independent media so right there at the
top the bill writes the first amendment
their oath to Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of
the press
but the press is a special industry it should include everyone who publishes
who tweets who comments on the news that she include everyone who acts to inform
the public
and those acts a journalism deserve protection
regardless of who does the matter how
I've surely many times on the show Thomas Jefferson once said he'd rather
have newspapers that a government and a government without newspapers have
jefferson were alive today
there's no doubt in my mind he'll be saying the same thing about bloggers
tweeters and WikiLeaks
if we want the first amendment to keep us free
we all have to stand up and say to these legislate oars who are trying to decide
who is and who is not the press
that the that the definition to the press has to be as all inclusive as
possible we gotta be about the first amendment the way the NRA's about the
second
we gonna be nuts about this I mean just emphatic
we have to demand that our elected representatives protect
acts up journalism rather than just paid professional journalists
I know journalism when I see a
Glenn Greenwald was performing an active journalism anyone who informs the public
about what's going on in the world in the halls a congressman
corporate boardrooms on the streets their city
they're engaging in journalism period and a story
and they are worthy love protection
now the Supreme Court is but apparently not gonna do it even though we live in a
constitutional monarchy and the Supreme Court
claims that they're the ones who have the official power to decide what's so
and what's the lawn who has what not like anything
but they've not come along and say I know they've they protected free speech
the extent that they X they protect billionaires
yes you can buy elections you can run all the ads you want
you can you know change people's minds you could lie to people
they protect billionaires they protect political party is they
protect corporations
but they haven't weighed in and to protect the independents press the
independent media
the the person who might just see somebody doing something wrong on the
street whether it's a police officer or representative about chemical
and video with their phone committed active journalism
and then be confronted with by the police on behalf of that powerful person
saying okay gimme your phone kid no
I'm a journalist I unprotected import is not gonna weigh in on this because it
would mean weighing in on the side of a little guys
they're not going to do that we have to require legislators to do it
this is the Thom Hartmann program so give a call special your Senators and
say media shield laws have to protect
acts a journalism as well as journalists