Oregon Public Broadcasting

Confidentiality is a cornerstone in any number of professions: doctors, lawyers and journalists.

Oregon is among the majority of states with a state shield law that protects journalists from having to reveal their sources, but a number of states don’t have such laws and there’s no federal law that protects reporters and editors.

Media analyst Al Stavitsky says such protections are fundamental to a free press. We spoke with him about the shield law recently passed in the U.S. House and other media matters.

Al Stavitsky is the associate dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. He also directs the University’s Turnbull Center in Portland.