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MEDIA NOTES Police, court deny journalist protection for bloggers By Jon Gingerich Aseries of recent legal and criminal inquiries have stoked the debate as to whether bloggers should be treated as equal to print, TV or online journalists. In one case, authorities revoked a blogger’s rights to newsgathering materials, an act experts claim is illegal under the Privacy Protection Act. In another separate case, courts ruled that bloggers are not protected by the same shield laws that immunize journalists from divulging their confidential sources. Police in April raided the Fremont, CA home of Gizmodo Editor Jason Chen, seizing personal computers as well as hard drives and a digital camera. Chen had weeks previously landed a scoop in the blogosphere when he published an exposé detailing the prototype of a new, yet-to-bereleased model of Apple’s iPhone, complete with photos. The story came under dubious circumstances. Chen allegedly obtained the phone U.S. newspapers continue decline U.S. weekday newspaper circulation fell by nearly 9% between Oct.’09 and March ’10, with Sunday editions falling 6.5%, according to data released in April by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The figures are actually a slight improvement from newspaper losses at this time last year, when weekday newspaper circulation dropped 10.6% from the year before and Sunday circulation fell 7.5%. Several top U.S. daily publications have continued experiencing serious circulation losses within the past year, with notable examples including the San Francisco Chronicle, which lost nearly 23% of its subscribers, USA Today, which lost 13.6% of its readers and the Washington Post, which lost 13%. The New York Times fared slightly better, experiencing an 8.5% decline in weekday subscribers and a 5.2% decline in Sunday editions. According to an AP report on the ABC findings, these numbers now give the Wall Street Journal the largest circulation of any newspaper in the United States. by paying an undisclosed third party $5,000. The seller, whom Chen has so far refused to identify, claims the phone was found at a bar in nearby Redwood City. The story was enough to catch the ire of Apple, a company that enacts notoriously iron-fisted research and development policies. The company’s lawyers contacted Gizmodo, and the blog eventually returned the iPhone. Gizmodo claims it had previously tried to give the phone back to Apple but received no response. Chen has not been arrested for any crime. Lucy Dalglish, Executive Director for The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said that if police were not investigating Chen for breaking the law, their search warrant is illegal and they didn’t have the right to confiscate his personal property. Specifically, the property seizure was a violation of the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, which protects news gatherers from being searched and having the materials they use to present a story (in this case, an iPhone) confiscated. “This was a screw up and they’re getting very defensive about it. Congress passed a law 30 years ago to protect journalists against these circumstances, and thankfully (Chen) has a very good lawyer,” she said. “Search warrants are not used for civil procedural matters, they’re used for criminal matters. There’s no First Amendment right not to be searched. In a situation like this there’s a Federal law that says if you want news gathering materials, you need to supply a subpoena.” In a letter to authorities, Gawker Chief Operating Officer Gaby Darbyshire reiterated the claim, stating that under both “state and Federal law, a search warrant may not be validly issued to confiscate the property of a journalist.” She referred to Chen as “a journalist who works full time for our company.” Gizmodo is owned by Gawker Media. Dalglish said the only time the Privacy Protection Act does not protect journalists against search and seizure is under “very narrow circumstances” where a journalist is considered the perpetrator in a criminal act. If authorities believe Chen committed a criminal act in the course of acquiring the phone, experts have speculated that Chen’s profession as a journalist may not be called into question as much as whether he knowingly received stolen property, in which case its use would be rendered immaterial. This could prove to be a pointless debate however, as the warrant used to search Chen’s home did not reveal him as a suspect in a criminal act. “The only way you could get a search warrant is if it’s criminal, so clearly they believed a felony has been committed, though it’s unclear what the charge is,” said Matt Zimmerman, Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “The short version here is there’s a California penal code which is very broad that prohibits law enforcement from getting this information from journalists.” Shield law shuns blogger Although incorrectly stated in more than one recent news report, Chen’s ordeal currently has no applicability under current shield laws, which is legislation that effectively strips journalists of any legal obligation to reveal their sources under subpoena. Shield laws vary state-by-state (there is currently a proposed Federal law on the floor of the U.S. Senate). Under California state law, Chen may invoke this privilege if asked to reveal the identity of the individual who sold him the phone, though no case has gone to court and such scenarios have not been entertained publicly. On the other hand, a New Jersey appeals court in April ruled that bloggers can’t invoke the same confidentiality privileges as the press simply because they claim to be “journalists.” In this case, Washington State native Shelle Hale was sued for defamation by porn software provider Too Much Media when she publicly accused the company of fraud, among other ethical violations, on industry news blog oprano.com. Hale later claimed her statements were the result of quotes procured from competent sources, and were divulged for the purpose of informing the public. When Too Much Media’s lawyers planned on deposing her sources, Hale moved to New Jersey in order to take advantage of the state’s existing shield laws, and set up a “news” web site to further her standing as a journalist (the site did not feature any content). In its ruling, the court stated that Hale “exhibited none of the recognized qualities or characteristics traditionally associated with the news process, nor has she demonstrated an established connection or affiliation with any news entity.” Too Much Media’s attorney Joel Kreizman went a step further: “Some people regard the Internet as the Wild West but there are some rules that apply. The shield law is limited to members of the media, not pretenders or wannabes.” 8 MAY 2010 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM
‘Alternative’ news funding sources not seen as an option By Greg Hazley Newspaper executives are balking at ideas like government and alternative funding for operations, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. Pew conducted a poll with the American Society of News Editors and Radio Television Digital News Association and found both concern for the future along with some optimism in the sector, despite layoffs and revenue declines. An unidentified broadcast news executive told the survey: “[Outside funding options] are being used to ‘save’ old models of journalism that are no longer economically viable and will die out over time no matter what.” Only 10% responding said they are working on “pay walls” for content, while another 32% are considering such a move and 11% have dismissed the idea. Only 15% think such a move would be a significant source of revenue and 35%, more than one-third, have not even considering charging readers for content online. Opposition to government funds or interest group backing is widespread, Pew found, as 75% said they have “serious reservations” about government support and 78% nixed interest group financing of news. Fewer than half queried said they are confident their news operation will last another decade without any significant new sources of revenue, and one-third see a risk in five years or less time. The study also found a divide among newspaper and broadcast executives with the latter being more pessimistic. Those in News wires go mobile PR Newswire and Business Wire have released iPhone applications developed by third parties to deliver news releases and multimedia content to users. Cathy Baron Tamraz, CEO of BW, called mobile distribution a “major element” for the company going forward. PR Newswire said that it is moving to streamline its content for mobile devices with the addition of an iPhone app and others for iPad, Blackberry and Android devices in the works. PRN said that its new iPhone app offers searchable breaking news and multimedia releases (including video) to users, who can broadcast see journalism headed in the wrong direction at a nearly two-to-one clip — 64% vs. 35% — over newspapers. But cultural shifts, younger and more tech-savvy staff and a sense of experimentation are all contributing to a tangible sense of a “change for the better,” Pew also found. The survey included 353 responses from the RTNDA and ASNE membership lists. save searches and share content via social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn. The app also works on iPod Touch and iPad devices, although PRN said it is working on an “optimized” version for the iPad. Business Wire on April 6 unveiled its own iPhone app developed by Agence France-Presse that includes press releases and multimedia. It works on iTouch and iPad devices. ProfNet subscribers can access queries via an app developed by Newstex, which is free at the Apple Store. BW said its content has been integrated into AFP’s own iPhone app, as well. It has a mobile website, m.businesswire.com, for users of Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Droid devices. MAY 2010 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 9
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OPINION Expense reduction for PR fi
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WASHINGTON REPORT No Obama moves on
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PR Buyer’s Guide To be featured i
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