Utah Supreme Court considers strong shield rule

A Utah Supreme Court advisory committee that several months ago proposed giving so-called "Swiss-cheese protections" to confidential news sources has reworked the rule into what would become one of the strongest reporter privileges in the nation.
    The Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence went back to the drawing board following a comment period in which news reporters and editors complained the previous rule was worse than no rule at all.
    The previous rule contained six exceptions to protecting confidential sources, and gave no protection for unpublished, non-confidential information, such as reporters' notes, tape recordings, photographs and video outtakes.
    Even Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff wrote to support a rule recognizing "a reporter's privilege" to protect the confidentiality of news sources.
    The proposed rule would give reporters what media attorneys call an "absolute privilege" against disclosing the identity of a confidential source.
     Utah has no shield law on the books.
Read the entire story in the Salt Lake Tribune