RCFP urges Idaho lawmakers to pass reporter’s shield bill

Update: After the Idaho House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 158, the Reporters Committee submitted a letter to the Idaho Senate on Feb. 25, 2025, urging lawmakers in that chamber to vote in favor of the legislation.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is urging Idaho lawmakers to pass a reporter’s shield bill that would establish essential protections for the public’s right to know. 

In a letter sent to the Idaho House of Representatives on Feb. 20, 2025, the Reporters Committee expressed strong support for House Bill 158, which would prohibit journalists from being compelled to reveal the identities of their confidential sources in legal proceedings, or to disclose unpublished material they obtained while newsgathering. 

Idaho is one of only 10 states in the country without a reporter’s shield law. While Idaho courts have recognized a limited reporter’s privilege, they have not been consistent in applying it. 

The shield bill comes at a particularly crucial time, the Reporters Committee’s letter notes. In recent years, Idaho journalists have been forced to disclose confidential source information in court. 

During a defamation trial last year, for example, EastIdahoNews.com was subpoenaed and forced to play a confidential recording of a conversation between a source and a reporter in court. The news outlet’s managing editor, Nate Sunderland, was also forced to testify in court after the outlet received two additional subpoenas in the same case.  

“For journalists to help the public and for us to hold those in power accountable for their actions, we need to assure that our sources and our conversations are inherently private,” Sunderland recently told the Idaho House Judiciary, Rules, and Administration Committee, according to EastIdahoNews.com.

The Reporters Committee’s letter states that the shield bill is a “reasonable, common-sense measure,” which is “evidenced by its bipartisan support and the fact that a large majority of states have codified similar protections.”

“Without some safeguard for confidential source identities and sensitive newsgathering material, the press cannot fulfill its constitutionally recognized watchdog role,” the letter adds. “We urge the Idaho House of Representatives to pass this critical legislation.”