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Jan 06, 2005

Comments

James Robertson

You do realize that the confidentiality of sources is a tradition and not a right, don't you?

Tom Royce

Dumb Question, but what "Constitutional" rights has Collins been denied? There have been accepted rights of the press to protect their sources, and I am far from an expert, but what specific Constitutional priveledge are given to this relationship?

shel

To James and Tom:

I am referring to the First Amendment which protects free press. You can have no free press, unless reporters can dig around the official words doled down from official spoekspeaple. The Supreme Court has been consistent over years in saying the right of reporters to assure confidentiality is required by the free press. This was expressed quite articulately in the case oif the US Government v. the New York Times when the issue was revealing the source of the leaked Pentagon Papers. Without this guarantee, our press will not be much different from the way it was practiced in the Soviet Union and China. BTW, Tom. who is Collins? I assume you meant Miller.

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