Don't just shield 'pro' journalists

Even so, President Bush already has said he will veto the House bill if it comes to his desk, though the measure's margin of victory was enough to override a veto. Testifying before the Senate, Atty. Gen-designate Michael B. Mukasey said he, too, opposes the measure. Later in his testimony, Mukasey also refused to accept the idea that waterboarding is torture. None of the senators being particularly quick, he was not asked where he stood on waterboarding reporters.

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All other considerations aside, passage of a federal shield law inevitably will involve an issue that all parties to the process -- particularly news organizations -- ought to approach with the greatest deliberation and care possible: the question of who is a journalist?

This is not a discussion any prudent person should want to have. The whole notion of letting the government define a journalist is abhorrent to anyone who values the 1st Amendment. There is, however, no way to adopt a federal shield law without having the Congress do just that. Other privileges are relatively easy to extend. The confidentiality of the priest-penitent relationship, for example, covers anyone ordained by the Catholic Church. A lawyer is somebody admitted to the bar. Psychotherapists are licensed by the state.

Journalists are not licensed or credentialed. They do not necessarily share a common education nor are they required to conduct themselves according to a universally accepted ethical canon.

They simply are people who do journalism.

In that respect, the proposed shield law the Senate Judiciary Committee approved 15-2 earlier this month is markedly superior to the House bill, because it envisions extension of the privilege to all those "engaged in journalism" and leaves it at that.

"Journalism," insofar as most of us have understood it, is nothing more than collecting information or commenting on it. You could add the phrase "with the intention of disseminating it to others," though even that seems too restrictive.

The House version, on the other hand, defines a journalist as "a person who regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public for a substantial portion of the person's livelihood or for substantial financial gain."