For Immediate Release

May 18 , 2006

Contact: Judith Platt
Ph: 202-220-4551
Email: jplatt@publishers.org

Book Publishers Welcome Bill to Protect Journalists

Washington, DC, May 18, 2006:  The U.S. book publishing industry welcomed the introduction today of the Free Flow of Information Act of 2006, legislation that would provide some degree of protection for journalists and authors against compelled testimony in federal court regarding confidential sources.

The bill was introduced by Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), joined by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA ) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT). Senators Lugar and Dodd had co-sponsored an earlier version of the legislation which, while it contained more stringent protection for journalists, was seen to have had little chance of passage in this Congress.  It is hoped that the sponsors’ leadership positions (Senator Lugar is Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Specter is Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Senator Dodd is the Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee)  will give the revised bill enough momentum to pass this year.   

The legislation, which attempts to balance the government’s legitimate law enforcement interests with the need to maintain a free and vigorous press, would protect journalists and the companies that employ or have contracts with them (including book publishers) from being compelled to reveal the identity of confidential sources except in limited circumstances, including national security threats.  The legislation would also protect information held by communications providers, including ISPs and telephone companies, if such information could lead to the identification of confidential sources.

“Over the past several years, publishers have watched with growing alarm the erosion of fundamental protections for investigative journalists and authors,” said former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers (AAP).  “This legislation establishes some ground rules to protect journalists and help safeguard the public’s right to be informed.” 

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s approximately 300 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. The Association represents an industry whose very existence depends upon the free exercise of rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

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