So this bill is moving forward;
A bill seeking to protect journalists and their sources of information passed out of committee this morning Pierre.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 1074 by a unanimous vote.
Reporter Shield Laws have become common across the United States but South Dakota has lagged behind in adopting reporter privilege as law. Â That from proponents who testified on behalf of the bill.
It fails to recognize ‘bloggers’ as journalists even though countless judges have determined them as journalists (I have qualified as press when I covered the Sanders and Clinton campaigns and got the same treatment as TV and newspaper journalists);
What is not included in HB1074 is a provision for bloggers and other social media based operations not affiliated with credentialed news sources, publications, or call letter broadcast stations.
As I have said in the past, I sell advertising on my site, so I do get paid. I have also pointed out the major newspapers and TV stations across the state could not survive without their internet revenue. Most people get their news from the internet. I would also argue that many major news stories get their start on the blogs. The local stations pluck story ideas from my site all of the time. The EC siding settlement would have never occurred if Bruce and I didn’t make a stink about it. This law should be amended to include bloggers.
If I dust off my Smith-Corona and with the help of some carbon paper start banging out an underground newspaper, am I a journalist?…. I think so, although, maybe not a real credible one…. But your blog site – and others – are credible given their longevity and history.
Plus, precedence has been established in this state with the case from Madison that involved our buddy over at the War Campus… I believe you’re a journalist, and thus covered, but then again I am not a lawyer, but I often play one on TV, does that count? 😉
Our constitutionally retarded legislature have no clue of what they are doing. The 1st Amendment protects me no matter what state law they want to pass. As for ‘credentials’ Bruce and I looked into this a few years ago, there is NO organization in the state that will ‘credential’ you as a bonified journalist. You can become a member of the SDNA if you pay a fee, but that doesn’t give you credentials either. Our legislature has lost it’s freaking marbles.
Being a Democrat in Pierre is like a young person attending a significant other’s family reunion…. What? He’s your uncle? So whose that lady in the muumuu over there? And why is your elder cousin dressed like Woody from ‘Toy Story?’…..(Hasn’t he heard of concealed carry?)