Senate adopts statutory press‑shield amendment to public‑records bill
Summary
Senator Rebecca L. Rauschsuccessfully attached a statutory press‑shield amendment to the legislative transparency bill; the Senate voted 40to0 to adopt it after debate on protections for volunteer journalists and limits on compelled source disclosure.
Senator Rebecca L. Rausch urged adoption of a statutory press‑shield amendment, saying Massachusetts has lagged other states and the amendment would protect reporters and sources. "Democracy dies in the absence of a free press," Rausch said while describing the amendment's standards for source disclosure.
Rausch told colleagues the amendment would prevent government bodies from compelling journalists to reveal sources except in limited circumstances, "only upon a showing of clear and convincing evidence that both the source disclosure is necessary, and there is an overriding public interest in the disclosure." She said language covers traditional and volunteer journalism and asked for a recorded vote.
Senator Cynthia Stone Cream and other supporters framed the change as necessary now given perceived attacks on the press and local newsroom declines. After debate the presiding officer ordered the yeas and nays and the clerk announced, "40 members having voted in the affirmative. None in the negative." The amendment was adopted and added to the bill before further consideration.
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