Two articles appeared in the Times today which call into question the balance of power between government enforcement and journalists’ privilege.
First, the “F.B.I. Is Seeking to Search Papers of Dead Reporter.” The family of a Washington reporter who recently passed away is fighting attempts to dig through papers to search for classified material. Of particular concern is the apparent fishing expedition that the F.B.I. wishes to go on:
“They talked about the Aipac case and that they thought Dad had some classified documents and they wanted to take fingerprints from them” to identify possible sources, he [the reporter’s son] recalled. “But they said they wanted to look at all 200 boxes and if they found anything classified they’d be duty-bound to take them.”
Also in the news are the subpoenas of reporters for their notes in the ongoing Plame leak scandal.
Traditionally, a reporter’s notes or other materials used in the newsgathering process (different courts in different locales have set different standards of protection). The argument is that these materials are necessary in forming effective speech. One might say that not protecting this material could lead to even less depth in reporting, and more superficial coverage like that of 24 hour cable news, blogs, and even this post (more feeling, less fact). When the authorities wish to simply troll through materials looking for broken laws, we must really worry about chilling journalist speech.