The Wisconsin Senate yesterday passed a "Shield Law" that would protect journalists and their confidential sources. The bill now goes to the Governor who has expressed support for the bill.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Pat Kreitlow, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "This bill is not about protecting the journalists so much as protecting the whistleblowers and their ability to come forward without the fear of intimidation or retribution from their employers." Kreitlow is a former television and radio reporter. The Journal Sentinel noted that its Pulitzer-winning investigation into fraud in a state child-care program depended on whistleblowers.