The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday, Oct. 9:
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Much of what journalists report every day consists of things the government wants to keep secret _ sometimes for good reasons, but sometimes not. Without such information, newspapers and newscasts would not carry very much news. Far worse, though, is that the public would be far less informed about matters of importance to the nation as a whole and the lives of its individual citizens.
So when Congress considers legislation to protect reporters from being forced to divulge their sources to the government, it's not so much the interests of the press that are at stake as the fundamental ...