Deary Pot Bust Leads to Reporter Privilege in Idaho
Thursday, April 1 2010
Symposium and Documentary Film Explore Reporter Privilege
MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Idaho Journalism and Mass Media program and the College of Law ACLU Club will present a symposium and documentary film commemorating the landmark 1985 Idaho Supreme Court decision, In re: Wright: Making the Case for Reporter Privilege in Idaho.
The symposium, held from 3:30-5 p.m., Monday, April 12, will convene in the Idaho Commons, Clearwater-Whitewater Room, 875 Line St. on the university campus. A JAMM student-documentary, “Watchdog Press: Making the Case for Reporter’s Privilege in Idaho,” will be screened at the symposium.
The symposium and film examine the state of reporter’s privilege – the right to keep sources confidential – in Idaho and nationally. Currently, a patchwork of state protections offers some confidentiality to journalists. Twenty-five years ago, however, nothing protected Idaho reporters’ confidential sources. The Wright decision in 1985 by the Idaho Supreme Court opened the way.
The case began in September 1982, when the Daily Idahonian, Moscow’s newspaper, received a press release from law enforcement officials reporting a marijuana bust near Deary, in Latah County. A confidential source contacted Jim Wright, the paper’s courts and crime reporter, and identified several exaggerations in the report, leading to the story that ignited an unexpected struggle, and ultimate victory, for reporters' privilege in Idaho.
The future of reporter's privilege remains controversial. There is no federal shield law, despite a decades-long effort, and new technologies – from Twitter to YouTube – add new difficulties.
These unresolved issues underlying reporter’s privilege in the 21st century form the basis of symposium discussion.
Panelists Include:
• L. (Butch) Alford Jr., president of TPC Holdings, Inc., the umbrella company for the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News, which brought the case to the Idaho Supreme Court.
• Charles (Chuck) A. Brown, a recognized First Amendment defense lawyer, who argued the case that established Idaho’s reporter’s privilege in In re Contempt of Wright, 108 Idaho 418, 700 P.2d 40 (1985).
• Steven A. Smith, former editor of the Spokesman-Review (Wash.), and currently teaching ethics at the University of Idaho, who will moderate the panel.
• Ben Wizner, staff attorney for the ACLU’s National Security Project.
• Jim Wright, the reporter at the heart of the case and former editor of the Times-News of Twin Falls.
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About the University of Idaho
Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state’s flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate education and research university, bringing insight and innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university’s student population includes first-generation college students and ethnically diverse scholars. Offering more than 130 degree options in 10 colleges, the university combines the strengths of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. The university is home to the Vandals, the 2009 Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl champions. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.