Survey: federal and state subpoenas on the rise

A new survey shows that more and more reporters are facing subpoenas seeking information obtained following a promise of confidentiality.

The soon-to-be-released survey of major television stations and daily newspapers finds a more than tenfold increase from an earlier report conducted by The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in 2001.

Nearly 40 percent of the more than 2,000 surveyed reported receiving a total of more than 3,000 federal and state subpoenas in 2006.

The survey’s author, University of Arizona law professor RonNell Anderson Jones, told the American Journalism Review that the report comes at an opportune time because of the pending federal shield law and the recent contempt charges against USA Today reporter Toni Locy.