I. Introduction: History & Background

In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Shield Law and the First Amendment reporter’s privilege provide broad protection to reporters who are subpoenaed for their notes, documents and/or testimony. The Shield Law is an absolute privilege that precludes the compelled disclosure of confidential source information. The First Amendment reporter’s privilege is a qualified privilege that applies to confidential source, unpublished and even published information and requires that the person serving the subpoena prove that the informa-tion sought is crucial to the claims at issue, that all alternative sources of the information have been ex-hausted and that the reporter is the only source of the information.