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Tracking the Federal Shield Law
Ongoing developments in the legislative push for the Free Flow of Information Act
A top public policy priority for NAA is enactment of a federal shield law that would enable journalists to protect confidential sources when subpoenaed in criminal and civil cases. In the wake of recent scandals involving the Justice Department's secret seizure of phone records that swept in communications of more than 100 Associated Press journalists, and the monitoring of Fox News reporter James Rosen's personal e-mail and cell phone records, this legislation is critical to protecting the free flow of information and the public's right to know.
Visit NAA for more details on the Free Flow of Information Act
Here is a link to a sample letter that can be used in contacting your representative. We encourage you to complete, sign and forward to your own representative. A word document can be found on the NMPA website
Editorial (if you have not done so, please feel free to use the following editorial in your publication)
Limit government overreach through Free Flow of Information Act
The nation learned in May that the Justice Department secretly obtained the phone records of more than 100 Associated Press reporters and monitored Fox News reporter James Rosen's personal email and cell phone records, branding him a "possible co-conspirator" in a classified leak case for asking questions to a government source.
These revelations sent shockwaves throughout newsrooms nationwide. Reporters can no longer assure their sources that interviews will remain confidential because there is no way to tell whether the government is listening. This attack on journalism reaches far beyond hardworking journalists and their sources. Make no mistake: The ultimate victims are the millions of Americans who rely on investigative journalism to inform them about their communities. When the government creates a chilling effect in newsrooms, it keeps important news away from the American public.
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Full-Service IMb made mandatory Jan. 2014NNA objections led to some concessions By Max Heath Postal Tips The Postal Service plowed ahead, no doubt running over some small mailers, in deciding to implement the mandatory "Full-Service" Intelligent Mail Barcode, effective Jan. 26, 2014, when the next postage price increases are to happen. The National Newspaper Association fought hard to resist the mandatory IMb in order to get Automation Barcode discounts. In the end, we got some concessions. But USPS was on a mission to implement this project, mostly for its own internal benefit, over the objections of newspapers and small mailing shops and their customers. Read more National Newspaper Association 127th Annual Convention & Trade Show Sep 12, 2013 - Sep 15, 2013 Phoenix, AZ The National Newspaper Association's 127th Annual Convention & Trade Show will address pressing business objectives of community newspaper owners, publishers and senior staff with educational sessions and peer-sharing activities. Click for more details
Media companies alarmed by the spate of lawsuits by former interns can expect more of the same soon, according to experts in labor law.
A judge's ruling on June 11 that Fox Searchlight violated minimum wage laws by not paying interns is likely to embolden other potential plaintiffs. They had been gathering anyway, filing new lawsuits against Conde Nast on June 14 and Gawker Media on June 21, alleging that each company had violated laws by failing to pay minimum wage. Read more
Pandora Quadruples In-Car Listeners
Pandora, the biggest online radio service, said the number of U.S. listeners in cars topped 2.5 million, more than four times the number it reported a year earlier.
Traditional radio broadcasters, meanwhile, are urgently debating their fear that some automakers may eventually stop equipping cars and trucks with AM/FM tuners at all. Read more
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