Blogger Spurs Debate Over Shield Law

I'm catching up on the controversy surrounding blogger Thaddeus Matthews in Memphis. His blog, Thaddeus Matthews Dot Com, is under investigation by local authorities and he may face subpoena.

Looks like the Commercial Appeal, along with the ACLU, is coming out on the side of Matthews' right to protect the "leaker" who is supposedly supplying the blog with details from a police investigation into the killing of a local police officer. Their argument is that Matthews, like any other reporter, should be protected by Tennessee's Shield Law.

Indeed, the statute states: "A person engaged in gathering information for publication or broadcast connected with or employed by the news media or press, or who is independently engaged in gathering information for publication or broadcast, shall not be required...to disclose...any information or the source of any information procured for publication or broadcast."

A CA editorial notes: "Like him or not, Matthews is among a growing cadre of Internet savvy communicators who are using the Internet to democratize journalism. When he obtained and gave his readers a draft statement from the suspect in the murder of police officer Edward Vidulich, he was using a common journalistic tool. Snatching that tool from the hands of journalists of any stripe ultimately damages the public's ability to hold the government accountable."

The Memphis Flyer, however, hasn't been so quick to side with the blogger.

"Flawed, lazy, beaten, battered, scooped, and insular it may sometimes be, but the established media still has some merits," opines senior editor John Branston. "Rules, principles, editing, attribution, corrections, and professionalism — not to mention regular salaries — still mean something."

The Middle Tennessee Pro Chapter is following the issue on its blog too.