Reader comments
Lee Benson: Shield law could lead to abuses

Either way you look at the shield law it can have abuses associated with it. However, on the law enforcement side of it the dangers are much worse and detrimental to the freespeech of the american people. The sheild law should also include married couples and their families from persecution and prosecution. A family trust and confidentiality is more sacred than even that of a lawyer, doctor, or reporter and should also have the shield of free speech and open conversation in trust. The laws forbidding the trust and sanctuary of family is a devestation to the freedoms of the constitution and personal rights of a family. It's better to spend time in jail than break a trust of family. Voluntering information is one thing but forced violatins of trust is another. The shield law is very much needed and expanded further.

To: Lee Benson
Let�s see� ��those reporters who would use, abuse and hide behind confidential sources for their own selfish purposes? �
� �the problem of news organizations with their own agendas that use confidential informants with a similar ideology to the collective advantage of both.�
�Without this information, news can tend to be awfully boring and not as complete.�
I read your article 3 times trying to understand what the new shield law is going to change in regards to objectively reporting the news. In the 40+ years I have read both the DesNews and SLTrib I have yet to read more than a handful of articles that remember there is more than one side to every story and this law will only make subjective reporting more subjective.
I agree that confidential sources need to be able to remain confidential. There are many times in which the truth would never be known without confidentiality. I just wish I had more confidence in reporters validating their sources.

You expressed my concerns as well. It seems that the media is being used at times as a court and jury before all the facts are weighed. I'm concerned about the shield law being used unjustly. There are cases where it could be used to protect those who need protecting but how can the accused party have a fair trial without the accusers being part of it?