From the Olympian:

Attorney General Rob McKenna has added Washington to a growing list of states in support of a federal law to protect reporters who refuse to name their confidential sources. Washington and dozens of other states have so-called shield laws, so it’s time Congress adopted federal protections.

Washington legislators passed a shield law that was signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire on April 27, 2007. The law grants reporters absolute privilege for protecting confidential sources — the same exemption from testifying in court that is granted to spouses, attorneys, clergy and police officers.

Reporters act on behalf of the public as they ferret out wrongdoing and bring misbehavior into the light of day. They sometimes need to shield the name of their confidential informants in order to collect key documents or information.

A reporter’s first preference — always — is to get the necessary information “on the record,” with the name of the source disclosed. The Olympian’s policy, as noted on our Web site (www.theolympian. com) states, “We name our sources. The use of unidentified sources in published material requires the approval of a managing editor or the highest-ranking editor available.”

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