Subpoenas to the news media are burdensome in several respects. First, they threaten the neutrality and independence of the media, casting them as "agents of discovery" in lawsuits that often do not involve them. Fighting subpoenas in order to maintain journalistic independence drains significant resources that should be spent on collecting and disseminating news. It also can result in court sanctions for journalists, such as Vanessa Leggett, who choose to guard their sources in the face of a court order.

Even when news outlets comply, rather than resisting a subpoena, the cost to the organization can include countless employee hours and thousands of dollars. The burden is especially onerous when, as in most situations, the media organization is not a party to the lawsuit, and the materials requested are available from other means. The media is too often subjected to the "fishing expeditions" of attorneys and investigators seeking to bolster their cases with unnecessary data or footage. As one survey respondent wrote, the impact of subpoenas on the news media is "immeasurable, but considerable."

The Reporters Committee has documented the burden of subpoenas in two three-part studies, the second of which terminates with this report. Over the course of the two studies — which analyzed data from six years out of a 13-year period — the data has not shown any significant increase or decrease in the number or burden of subpoenas to the news media. The data shows, at least anecdotally, that subpoenas pose a consistent problem in newsrooms around the country and that this burden is not going away.

This report attempts to quantify the harm that subpoenas cause to news organizations and the public's right to know. The Reporters Committee compiles this report in the hope that the statistics and anecdotes contained herein will be useful to attorneys, judges and legislators when they are called upon to make important decisions about the use of subpoenas against journalists. The freedom of the press to perform its essential function of informing the public in an neutral and impartial manner is at stake.