Define Journalist

In 2001, Vanessa Leggett spent 168 days in jail because she did not reveal information about a Houston murder that she researched and planned to write a book about. That is the longest time any American journalist has ever spent in jail for refusing to respond to a subpoena.

Because reporter's privilege was not recognized in the Fifth Circuit (includes Texas), Leggett did her time, and the U.S. Department of Justice didn't get involved because according to their definition, "an unpublished author is not a journalist."

So what exactly is a journalist? Though reporter's privilege is recognized in some states, we're not quite sure who qualifies to be covered by these shield laws. According to dictionary.com, a journalist is defined as 1) "a person who practices the occupation or profession of journalism" and 2) "a person who keeps a journal, diary, or other record of daily events."

With today's technology, not many people are getting their news from one source; they're definitely not referring only to newspapers or only to television. People get their news from everywhere, including blogs. Blogs can be considered "online" diaries or journals. So why aren't bloggers covered by shield laws?

The Internet is always evolving, and Congress has tried to adjust to figure out who has freedom of the press and who qualifies for reporter's privilege. We can say that they have shown effort and is at least acknowledging that technology is changing the world of journalism. Considering the "new journalist", Congress may want to start with a detailed explanation of what a journalist is in order to weed out the bloggers in pajamas claiming to be journalists.