10/25/05

AP president supports shield law for journalists

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal law to protect journalists from having to reveal their confidential sources is necessary no matter what, Tom Curley, president and CEO of The Associated Press said Tuesday.

"It's nuts to see reporters going to jail for upholding professional standards," he said at the National Press Club. "We're not asking for an exception just for us. We're asking for an exception that already exists."

Congress is debating legislation that would protect journalists in many cases from being forced to reveal their news sources. Similar laws exist in most states.

"We need it at the federal level," Curley said.

He stuck up for The New York Times, which supported one of its reporters who spent 85 days in jail before divulging the name of her source regarding a possibly illegal leak of a CIA operative's identity.

"They deserve more credit than they are getting in terms of their dedication to the news," he said. "If there is a problem at The New York Times, they will fix it."

The event was hosted by Marvin Kalb, a former television journalist who is now a senior fellow at Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. The Kalb Report was aired live on satellite and local radio and taped for broadcast on Bloomberg Television and WHUT-TV, channel 32 in Washington.

Dipping third quarter profits from many major news outlets and the changing nature of news amid new media -- such as Web logs, or blogs -- do not scare Curley, who says organizations like the AP are more necessary than ever to serve as standard bearers.

He also said that while the AP aims to break news by reporting quickly, the organization earns trust by waiting for certainty.

"You have to have the courage to hold if you're going to maintain standards," he said.
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On the Net:
The Kalb Report: http://www.gwu.edu/kalb/
The Associated Press: http://www.ap.org