NY Shield Law Extended to Bloggers?

The NY Times City Blog reports on a bill introduced by Democratic state senators Thomas Duane and Linda Rosenthal that would extend the state shield law for journalists to include “journalist bloggers.” The current shield law protects journalists from having to disclose confidential sources or information in state court. S8746 proposes to amend Civil Rights Law 79-h to include those who write a web log in the definition of a professional journalist, and adds a new section defining the term web log:

“Web log” shall mean a website or webpage that contains an online journal containing news, comments and offers hyperlinks provided by the professional journalist or newscaster.

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