Lawyers' network fights for access for US journalists

The call from a deputy district attorney unnerved Hanna Merzbach.

The freelance journalist from the city of Bend, in the western U.S. state of Oregon, had been reporting on a dispute between climbers at a state park.

Now the county attorney wanted her to testify about one of her sources.

When Merzbach refused, she was issued a subpoena.

"I was pretty overwhelmed," Merzbach told VOA. "I don't have the same kinds of support that staff writers do."

Unsure of her rights, Merzbach turned to Twitter, posting about her subpoena.

Soon other journalists in Oregon reached out, suggesting that she seek legal help from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP).

The Washington-based group runs a program called the Local Legal Initiative that offers free legal support in media rights cases. Staff attorneys are based in five states: Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, with plans to add more. ​The attorneys are available to help journalists no matter where they are located in the U.S.

Since its inception in 2020, Local Legal Initiative attorneys have represented more than 120 journalists and news outlets, helping them access public records and contest demands to turn over reporting materials. Funds from the Knight Foundation helped to set up the program.

Lisa Zycherman, deputy legal director and policy counsel at the RCFP, said that state and local governments have "grown emboldened" in efforts to shield information from the public and the media.

"They can do so if they're confident that newsrooms may not be able to challenge a lack of transparency," Zycherman said.

In a time of economic downturn for local media, journalists often also lack the resources to push back, she said.

"When journalists are routinely stymied by a culture of secrecy that shields data, documents and other public records, our Local Legal Initiative attorneys can help journalists push back against that kind of secrecy," Zycherman said.

Legal relief

In Merzbach's case, journalists on Twitter helped connect her with Ellen Osoinach, an RCFP attorney based in Oregon.

"We spoke the next morning and basically she got everything resolved that day," Merzbach said.

Osoinach spoke to the deputy district attorney about Oregon's shield law, which protects journalists from being compelled to testify or to share materials.

"And then," said Merzbach, "everything just went away."

The journalist, who covers climate change and housing issues on the West Coast, said if she had been forced to comply with the subpoena, it would have damaged her credibility and made it seem like she was "taking a side."

Source: VOA