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The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government held a hearing today titled “Fighting for a Free Press: Protecting Journalists and their Sources.” Witnesses who testified before the subcommittee included:
- Former Fox and CBS News Investigative journalist Catherine Herridge
- Investigative journalist and Managing Editor of Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson
- Mary Cavallaro, Chief Broadcast Officer, SAG-AFTRA and
- Nadine Farid Johnson of Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
Investigative journalist Catherine Herridge’s opening statement laid out the crux of what is happening in real time to journalists and their protected sources by corporate media. It’s alarming.
Here’s a snippet from her opening statement:
I began my career with ABC News in London 37 years ago. Since then I have focused on national security and intelligence reporting at Fox News and more recently with CBS News where I was a senior investigative reporter.
My current situation arises from a Privacy Act lawsuit. I am only a witness in this case. It is not common for these cases to reach the stage of holding a reporter in contempt, but when such cases happen, they have profound consequences, impacting every journalist in the United States. Forcing a reporter to disclose confidential sources would have a crippling effect on investigative journalism, because without reliable assurances of confidentiality, sources will not come forward. The First Amendment provides protections for the press because an informed electorate is at the foundation of our democracy.
If confidential sources are not protected, I fear investigative journalism is dead. Each day, I feel the weight of this responsibility.
READ Herridge’s full Opening Statement
WATCH:
Click HERE to read the other witness testimonies.
WATCH the full hearing:
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