IV. Who is covered

The Tennessee shield law applies to any "person engaged in gathering information for publication or broadcast connected with or employed by the news media or press, or who is independently engaged in gathering information for publication or broadcast." Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-1-208(a). This protection is broad and appears to cover most types of newsgatherers. There is no case law further defining who is covered by the shield law, but it has generally been given a broad application by Tennessee courts.