Protecting Citizen Journalists: Why Congress Should Adopt a Broad Federal Shield Law

Abstract

On August 1, 2006, a federal district judge sent Josh Wolf, a freelance video journalist and blogger, to prison. Wolf, a recent college graduate who did not work for a mainstream media organization at the time, captured video footage of an anti-capitalist protest in California and posted portions of the video on his blog. As part of an investigation into charges against protestors whose identities were unknown, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Wolf to testify before a grand jury and to hand over the unpublished portions of his video. Wolf refused to comply with the subpoena, arguing that the First Amendment allows journalists to shield their newsgathering materials. The judge disagreed, and, as a result, Wolf spent 226 days in federal prison, "the longest incarceration ever of an American journalist."