Momentum for Shield Law Builds With Support from Presidential Candidates

The week of April 14 was a banner week for the legislative campaign for a federal shield law. At the joint NAA/ASNE conference on April 14, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) expressed public support for S. 2035 at a lunch sponsored by the Associated Press. A few hours later, presidential candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL), followed suit by signing on as co-sponsors of the bill. At the NAA lunch on April 15, Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rick Boucher (D-VA), chief architects of the landslide House vote, accepted the 2008 Sunshine Award on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative and urged publishers and editors to continue the drum beat for a Senate floor vote on the shield bill.

Thanks to the generosity of many, including several NAA members, an ad created by NAA and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) ran in the New York Times, the Washington Post and several congressional publications, urging Senate action on the shield bill. NAA members are encouraged to consider running this ad over the coming weeks.  At the bottom of the ad, space is allocated for NAA members to personalize the ad and/or insert their logos.

Back home contacts from NAA members have been invaluable to this recent momentum. Thank you for answering the call-to-action and we encourage you to keep up the good work as we continue to urge a Senate floor vote before the Memorial Day recess.

First Published:
April 22, 2008