NMU ROUNDUP Confidentiality/Privilege Two financial publishers fight for status as journalists In two separate cases, a federal appeals court denied a ratings company’s claim of protection from a subpoena under the reporter’s privilege, while an index publisher is heading to court to make a similar claim. May 23, 2003 — A federal appeals court denied … Continue reading "Two financial publishers fight for status as journalists"

A Detroit Free Press reporter ordered to testify about the confidential sources he used to report on a federal investigation of a former U.S. prosecutor urged the court this week not to compel his testimony. In papers filed Monday, reporter David Ashenfelter argued that he should not have to testify about his coverage of a … Continue reading "Free Press reporter fights court order to reveal source"

Oct. 3, 2007 · Steven J. Hatfill, a former Army scientist and one time suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks, asked a federal judge Tuesday to hold two journalists in contempt for refusing to name which government sources leaked details about the investigation to the press. Hatfill, a physician who had worked at an Army … Continue reading "Hatfill seeks contempt citations for journalists"

The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Thursday reaffirmed that a website covering the mortgage industry has the same First Amendment protections as traditional media. The case —The Mortgage Specialists v. Implode Explode Heavy Industries — began after Implode-O-Meter, a website covering the mortgage industry, published a story that said the state banking authority was investigating … Continue reading "State high court extends media protection to mortgage website"

A jury sided with a BusinessWeek reporter in finding that she had not promised confidentiality to a Microsoft executive who disclosed personal details of his work relationships for a story on office conflicts. Interestingly, the Microsoft plaintiff was represented by a lawyer who used to represent the news media.