New Survey Shows Significant Rise in Subpoenas to Reporters

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Subpoenas to reporters demanding information given in confidence by sources are up significantly over the past five years, according to an independent national survey of major television stations and daily newspapers. RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor at the University of Arizona, said the 736 news organizations that responded reported receiving a total of 3,062 state and federal subpoenas in 2006. Of those, 97 were seeking information given confidentially to reporters, compared with 6 in a similar study by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in 2001. (4/9/08)