National Federation of Press Women First Amendment Network

First Amendment Network

First Amendment rights | FAN activities
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What are those First Amendment rights?

Glad you asked! Just to refresh your memory, they are:

Freedom of the press
Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
Freedom to assemble
Freedom to petition the government

Celebrate Sunshine Week

NFPW First Vice President Marsha Shuler, also First Amendment Chair, has issued a call to action to NFPW members and affiliates to help raise awareness of the importance of access and open government during national Sunshine Week, March 11-17:

It's the one week a year where the national emphasis is on bringing attention to a problem that should get our attention on a regular basis. The barriers to the public's right to know are growing daily.

Information is power for the people — power to hold their government and its officials accountable for their actions.

So, during this week I would like to encourage affiliates and their members to do whatever they can to raise public awareness of their rights and how they are being violated as well as what good can come from letting the sun shine in. I'm sure many of you have stories to tell.

Personally, I'm fighting the good fight on two fronts — state and federal — on one simple request for information involving the hurricane preparedness of hospitals in south Louisiana . It's important information for residents of the area who lived through Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The federal government is actually blocking the state release of the hospital survey findings. Louisiana has a good public records law with a quick turnaround once requests are made. Officials here were poised to release the information until the federal government stepped in using a questionable exception to the federal Freedom of Information Act claim it is not public data. I appealed that decision and months later still have no response and no information.

It's just another example of the problems with FOIA which in its implementation is more designed to keep information out of the public's hands.

Doing something to fix federal FOIA problems is critical to an informed public that can hold government accountable for its actions. NFPW is working with other professional communications groups to clear up government logjams that needlessly delay release of documents.

During this week of special focus, I encourage affiliates and their individual members to do whatever they can to bring attention to the importance of letting the sun shine in. One thing affiliates might do is urge all their members of Congress to support reform of the Freedom of Information Act. HR 1306 in the House will soon be joined by a companion Senate bill. It would create, among other things, an ombudsman office in the federal government to help iron out bureaucratic snags in the release of information.

People also can write editorials, columns or stories, make speeches, schedule programs, etc. Do what you can. It's important to all of our freedoms.

Check out http://www.sunshineweek.org for more ideas.

Then download this pdf form to order your Sunshine Week bracelet.

See below for our latest FAN Alert on the OPEN Government Act of 2007 that strengthens the Freedom of Information Act. Then contact your state's lawmakers and urge their support.

FAN activities

NFPW is continually working on the behalf of all Americans to protect First Amendment rights. These are just a few of our activities:

NFPW responds to collegiate newspaper shut-down (Feb. 2007)

NFPW President Meg Hunt sent a letter in January to Grambling State University President Horace Judson urging the university to respect the free press rights of its students.

By Feb. 7 Judson had responded, stating that the university never engaged in censorship, but believed its student newspaper had published "journalistically unacceptable articles."

Hunt's letter was prompted by the closing of The Gramblinite by the university provost. The paper was shut down for a day before it was allowed to reopen the following day under new guidelines that required approval of material prior to publication.

The administration had complained that The Gramblinite had nothing but negative stories in the paper, according to a report from its editor. A dispute also arose last fall when the paper terminated coverage of the university homecoming because the administration refused to grant passes to reporters.

Hunt commented that university administrations sometimes find "aggressive news coverage and robust editorial comment" difficult to live with, but that teaching students the value of the First Amendment remains a critical mission for journalism schools and departments.

Judson's letter said the university planned to place greater emphasis upon professional and ethical standards.

Meg Hunt's letter (.doc, pdf)
Grambling State University response (pdf)
FAN Network
NFPW continues to operate its First Amendment Network (FAN), an innovative grassroots e-mail alert system that notifies FAN members when issues need action.

Members then can respond to the appropriate congressional office or federal agency seeking comments.

We, as an organization, can pass resolutions, but oftentimes it is individual responses that capture decision-makers' attention. We provide our members with information sheets so they know what is at stake.
Congressional Research Service reports
NFPW continues to fight for making Congressional Research Service reports more broadly available by posting them online. It is important that the public have access to information on how their government works and to studies that show how well that government is serving the public.
Shield Law
Another top priority is adoption of a federal Shield Law.

What is the Shield Law? – Douglas Lee, attorney for Ehrmann Gehlback Badger & Lee, writing for the First Amendment Center, explained:

In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Branzburg v. Hayes that "news gathering is not without First Amendment protections." The justices, however, could not agree about the form or breadth of those protections. As a result, no nationally recognized newsgatherer’s privilege exists. Instead, the protections currently in place for newsgatherers are set forth in a patchwork of inconsistent court decisions and state statutes.

Newsgatherers — a term that includes reporters, authors and television producers — often are subpoenaed to provide information in criminal and civil court proceedings. In some cases, the information sought is the identity of a confidential source. In others, the subpoenaing party seeks a reporter’s notes, video outtakes or other unpublished information. And in others, the newsgatherer is subpoenaed to testify about a crime or other event he or she witnessed.

Newsgatherers seek protection from these subpoenas for a variety of reasons. If newsgatherers cannot guarantee the confidentiality promised to some sources, they say, those sources will refuse to provide information that often is critical to important investigative reporting. Newsgatherers also claim that requests for nonconfidential, unpublished information interfere in news gathering by making them investigative arms of the government and by forcing them to spend time and money in court proceedings. Newsgatherers also cite the potential abuse they would suffer if litigants unhappy with a story or a book could routinely subpoena them to appear in court.

For more information on the Shield Law, contact firstamendmentcenter.org
College Press Freedom
NFPW also joined in the amicus brief in Hosty v. Carter. The case involved Governors State University in Illinois. The university was sued by student journalists after a dean told the newspaper's printer to hold future issues until school officials had given approval to the student newspaper's contents. The newspaper had published news stories and editorials critical of the administration.

A three-judge panel handed down a decision offering strong support for college press freedom. The decision was vacated and the full court overturned it. The case was up for petition for certorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. NFPW donated funds to help with the suit to uphold press freedom and denounce prior censorship.
Freedom of Information
FAN has also kept our members up to date on problems involving access to government records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A recent alert advised of changes the Bush administration made aimed at speeding up records requests made by the public, media and others. The names of FOIA contacts in charge of policing the system have been posted.
Sunshine Week
We also participated in Sunshine Week along with other strong First Amendment groups. Sunshine Week is an annual event designed to disseminate information and heighten awareness of First Amendment issues.

For more information contact Marsha Shuler, Director, First Amendment Network and NFPW First Vice President, at mshuler@theadvocate.com.

Get involved…and sign up!

We encourage all NFPW members to join FAN – no cost – and receive our FAN alerts. Then you make the decision if you choose to take action. The more voices we have championing First Amendment issues the stronger the barrier against those forces seeking to weaken these precious freedoms.

If you're not an NFPW member, but wish to join FAN, please contact Marsha Shuler, our FAN director, at mshuler@the advocate.com.

FAN Alerts

Free Flow of Information Bill
(issued July 17, 2008)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated that the Free Flow of Information, S 2035, will reach the Senate floor in July.

Passage of this bill is important for communicators and for citizens. It helps to protect journalists' sources when people come forward to talk about wrongdoing, waste or fraud and when they have a sensitive story to tell but cannot risk having their identities known. The bill has been carefully written so that a journalists' shield cannot be used when threats to national security or public safety occur. Rather, it simply puts journalists on a tier with attorneys, doctors, therapists, clergy and many others who sometimes must possess confidential information in order to carry out their professional responsibilities.

Journalists are being subpoenaed into federal courts at an alarming rate. When they try to keep their promises of confidentiality of sources, they face sanctions like that applied to former USA Today journalist Toni Locy: a $5,000 fine PER DAY that must be paid from personal funds and cannot be reimbursed by her employer.

The bill has bipartisan support. Both Republicans and Democrats have said it is time for a federal law that matches the laws in virtually every state. The National Association of Attorneys General has endorsed it.

This is the time to contact your senators and ask for their pledge to support S. 2035, a good government bill that helps journalists do their jobs.

Support Shield Law
(issued June 21, 2008)

Please contact your attorney general!

An important letter from the National Association of Attorneys General is on your own state AG's desk right now. It invites his/her support for a federal journalists' shield law, like the one in most states. If 36 of the AGs sign on in the next week, the NAAG will officially support the legislation. The bill, S 2035, is presently log-jammed in the US Senate. But the clock is ticking. We need the AG's support. And we need this bill to move to a Senate vote before Congress adjourns.

Think about former USA Today reporter Toni Locy, fined $5,000 a day for protecting her sources--and PROHIBITED by the judge's order from seeking financial help from her newspaper, her family or friends.

You can see the letter here.

For more information, consider signing up for NFPW First Amendment Network on Facebook. If you haven't joined us there yet, you're missing half the fun!

Tonda Rush
NFPW First Amendment Counsel

Call to action for USA Today journalist
(issued March 11, 2008)

NFPW yesterday joined a media coalition in supporting an emergency appeal of a US District Judge's order that a USA Today reporter must PERSONALLY pay a $5,000 per day fine for refusing to reveal confidential sources--and that she is not permitted to seek reimbursement from her publisher.

The order is a blatant attempt to threaten a journalist with bankruptcy as a lever to force her employer to negotiate a settlement in the lawsuit brought by former anthrax suspect Steven Hatfill.

Please read the useful background information from the Reporters Committee, and read the brief that NFPW joined.

We hope FAN members will take the time to read and write. This reporter is being badly abused by our lack of a federal shield law.

Marsha Shuler, NFPW President
Tonda Rush, First Amendment Counsel

A letter from President Marsha Shuler:

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

President Bush on December 31 signed the new Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007. This is the Freedom of Information improvements act that so many of you worked on in 2005, 2006 and 2007. It will put in place many new tools to help people get their questions answered on time, and to find help through the maze of federal rules when they request a record from the federal government.

We will work more on this in 2008 as the rules and regulations put this new law into operation.

What a great way to start the New Year! Our thanks to all who helped. And please note my President's letter as you talk to your affiliates. We hope to have a journalists' shield law in place before the year ends.

National Federation of Press Women president Marsha Shuler and First Amendment chair Pam Stallsmith urgently seek your assistance in passing a bill to keep journalists from going to jail for protecting their sources.

NFPW Seeks Assistance in Passage of the Free Flow of Information Act (FFIA)
(issued October 11, 2007)

The Free Flow of Information Act (FFIA) has been discussed extensively in NFPW events and AGENDA. It allows journalists to decline to testify on confidential sources, notes, unused photos or other documents in federal civil and criminal cases. It is expected to come up for vote Tuesday , Oct 16.

Exceptions are made in the bill when national security issues are at stake, and in other circumstances when information is not available from any other source. The bill strikes a good balance between giving journalists the right to do their jobs and recognizing other legitimate needs of society. It has bipartisan support with lead sponsors being Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia, a Democrat, and Mike Pence of Indiana, a Republican.

This is our chance to help strengthen the First Amendment and the public’s right to know. It will be an extremely critical vote. Please act now.

You can find an email address of all House members at www.house.gov. Phone calls are most effective, however, and you may reach any member of Congress at 202-224-3121. Do not send letters by mail – they will not arrive in time.

On behalf of NFPW President Meg Hunt and First Amendment Chair Marsha Shuler, we are providing this update on progress on the federal journalists' shield law bill.

NFPW applauds the approval of the reporters shield law bill, the Free Flow of Information Act, by the House Judiciary Committee and thanks the Newspaper Association of America and other organizations that have worked so hard for its passage.

NFPW is a proud supporter of this bill. NFPW members are encouraged to continue to contact their members of Congress and urge passage of this bill when it reaches the House floor.

NFPW Congratulates Senate for Passage of Freedom of Information Act Improvements
(issued August 9, 2007)

ARLINGTON, VA – National Federation of Press Women President Meg Hunt and First Amendment Chair Marsha Shuler this week congratulated Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, and John Cornyn, R-TX, for steering a bipartisan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) improvements bill through the Senate.

S. 849, the OPEN Government Act of 2007, passed the Senate unanimously in late hours Aug. 3 before the body recessed for August break.
A similar bill passed the House in March.

Hunt thanked NFPW members for their help in contacting Senators for support of the bill.

“NFPW members believe in open government. We have been pleased that members of NFPW’s First Amendment Network activated their email lists promptly last week when passage of this bill was hanging in the balance of a busy Senate calendar. Their contacts to Senators demonstrated that open government is important back home,” Hunt said.

Shuler said she hoped the House and Senate bills could be reconciled for final passage this fall.

“NFPW’s members include many free-lancer writers and editors, as well as researchers and journalists who work for news organizations. Many depend from time to time upon the FOIA to help them understand and explain the operations of some aspect of government. But FOIA has been a disappointment to many who use it. It is sluggish and costly. By the time people get the records they requested – if they ever do – the need has passed,” she said. “If this bill becomes law, we hope to see an improvement in the federal government’s responsiveness.”

The FOIA bill introduces several new measures into the law intended to make open government work better for reporters, researchers, archivists and others who request public records. The bill:

Requires agencies to set up a tracking mechanism so requesters will know the status of their requests;
Strengthens the ability of news organizations – including freelancers – to request records without having to pay search fees;
Puts new teeth into 20-day time limits by depriving agencies of the ability to charge fees if time limits are not observed.
Sets up a first-ever public ombudsman under the National Records and Archives Administration to help the public through the maze of government records, to assist in mediating disputes with agencies.
Requires periodic audits by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an arm of Congress, on agency performance of its FOIA obligations; and
Requires the establishment of Chief FOIA officers within agencies, a function created by Presidential Executive Order during the previous Congress.

The Freedom of Information Act requires all federal executive branch records to be made available to a requester within 20 days unless the record is exempt under one of nine exemptions to protect sensitive matters, such as intelligence records, personal privacy, law enforcement investigations and trade secrets. It was first passed by Congress in 1966.

Progress report on Shield Law Bill
(posted August 1, 2007)

Washington — A vote today by the House Judiciary Committee to pass the Free Flow of Information Act (H.R. 2102) was applauded by more than 40 media companies and organizations that have been working for federal protection of journalists' confidential sources. Similar legislation (S. 1267) is awaiting action by the Senate.

Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia offer some degree of shield law protection, while an additional 17 have seen judicial decisions supporting the safeguarding of confidential sources' identities. There currently is no protection, however, at the federal level, evidenced by a recent spate of federal subpoenas that have threatened to and actually put reporters behind bars.

Paul Boyle, senior vice president of public policy at the Newspaper Association of America, issued the following statement on behalf of the media coalition:

"We appreciate the efforts of all the lawmakers who supported this measure, particularly its champions, Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.). We look forward to the floor vote, which could bring a federal shield law one step closer to enactment."

"While news organizations prefer to have their sources on-the-record whenever possible, there are times when sources will not come forward without the promise of confidentiality. Groundbreaking stories − such as conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center, the Enron scandal and steroid abuse in Major League Baseball − would not have been known to the public – or to the Congress – without confidential sources.

"If sources – including government and private sector whistleblowers – are uncertain whether reporters have adequate protection they will not come forward and the public dialogue on important issues will diminish. Continued pressure on reporters to reveal the identities of confidential sources also will alter the daily communications between government officials and the press – an interaction that has benefited our democratic society well for 231 years.

"The Free Flow of Information Act establishes important ground rules that balance the public interest in both the free flow of information and the fair administration of justice. By enacting a federal shield law, the Congress can ensure that all parties – journalists, sources, prosecutors, civil litigants and courts alike – can rely on consistent and well-articulated standards of procedure.”

Click here for more information about the legislation.

Support the Free Flow of Information Act (issued July 12, 2007)

HR 2102, the journalists’ shield law, is being reviewed by the House Judiciary Committee. The bill would permit journalists to protect their sources from subpoenas in federal judicial matters. Although 33 states and the District of Columbia recognize specific journalists’ rights to protect sources, the federal law does not. This bill recognizes some exceptions to the journalists’ confidentiality rights, such as in grave matters of national security or when a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial is at stake. But it also recognizes that without the ability to protect confidential sources, journalists cannot provide the nation with the information it needs to govern itself. Subpoenas of reporters are at an alarming high, as nearly two dozen journalists have been summoned to testify in this past year in Washington, D.C., alone.

NFPW President Meg Hunt recently signed NFPW on as an official supporter of this bill. She and First Amendment Chair Marsha Shuler strongly encourage NFPW members to contact their members of the House and urge them:

1) to sign on as co-sponsors of HR 2102; and

2) to express their support of the bill to the House Judiciary Committee, which is considering whether to move this bill to the floor.

More information on the bill and its status is available at www.loc.gov/thomas, at the Newspaper Association of America web site, www.naa.org, or at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press web site, www.rcfp.org.

Meg Hunt, NFPW President

Marsha Shuler, NFPW Vice President and First Amendment Chair

Tonda Rush, NFPW First Amendment Counsel

Support OPEN Government Act (issued March 8, 2007)

Please contact your Congressman or Congresswoman TODAY and ask him or her to support HR 1309, the OPEN Government Act of 2007. This important bill strengthens the Freedom of Information Act:

by creating an ombudsman office to help citizens, journalists, educators and researchers to get information faster when bureaucratic snarls slow down an agency response;
by assigning a tracking number to every records request so requests can find out exactly where a release stands in processing;
by increasing penalties on agencies if they do not respond within time limits;
by requiring agencies to explain in greater detail why portions of a record have been blacked out; and
by strengthening the ability to get attorneys' fees if a request has to sue to get records, and wins.

This is the first major overhaul of FOIA in a decade. Sponsors of this bill are Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA; William Lacey Clay, D-MO; and Todd Platts, R-PA.

We expect a significant pushback from the administration. Some Republicans tried to amend the bill during the committee markup. This is not a partisan bill, though. FOIA bills traditionally draw resistance from the Executive Branch. Rep. Platts, a Republican, will be leading the support for the bill on that side of the aisle. Reps. Waxman and Clay will seek the support of Democrats.

If you can persuade your member of Congress to BECOME A SPONSOR, he or she should contact one of those three original sponsors. If your member will not sponsor, please ASK HIM OR HER TO VOTE YES next week. The bill is expected on the floor March 13, during Sunshine Week. Questions? E-mail presswomen@aol.com.

Meg Hunt, NFPW President
Marsha Shuler, NFPW Vice President and First Amendment Chair

Tonda Rush, NFPW First Amendment Counsel

Help National Women's History Museum (issued Sept. 28, 2006)

Your immediate help before Saturday, Sept. 30, is critical to help make the National Women's History Museum a reality. Learn how you can help. (.doc, pdf)

Official Secrets Act (issued Sept. 8, 2006)

Sen Christopher Bond (R-MO) has introduced S.3774, which would create this nation’s first Official Secrets Act. The bill would permit criminal punishment for leaks of classified information, without regard to whether the information is a necessary part of public debate on foreign affairs or national security. It also would exempt the entire US Congress, where many of the leaks originate. Read more on this expansive bill. (.doc, pdf)

Then see the attached letter you can send to your senator. You can use this letter or write one in your own words. (.doc, pdf)

Information Access (issued April 24, 2006)

Require the government to disclose its role in advocacy ads and support restrictions on pseudo-classified documents (.doc, pdf)

Letter to Governor Mike Huckabee (issued May 2006)

NFPW joined other national journalism organizations in signing a letter to Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas to object to his using an information-access sanction in retaliation for coverage he does not like. In this case, the sanction is aimed not merely at an individual reporter but at an entire newspaper. Read more. (.doc, pdf, Appleworks)

NFPW FAN Network Issues presentation

View our PowerPoint presentation on critical First Amendment issues being addressed by NFPW.