Montgomery, AL – A state senator is trying to protect magazine writers from having to reveal their sources in court. State Senator Jabo Waggoner got the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committee to approve his bill today that would add magazines to Alabama's ``shield law.'' His bill now goes to the Senate.
Currently, Alabama law protects reporters for newspapers and radio and TV stations from being compelled in court to disclose the source of any information they report.
Waggoner says he was asked by one of his constituents, former Time Incorporated Chairman Don Logan, to expand the shield law to specifically include magazines.
Time Incorporated publishes Sports Illustrated. The magazine was sued by former Alabama football coach Mike Price in 2003. In that case, a federal appeals court ruled that magazines aren't covered by Alabama's shield law.
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