July 2023 Gleanings
BIPC Newsmaker features Correctional Commission, Governor signs Shield Law, save the date for Dec. 2 Torch of Light event.
MEETING NOTICE: BIPC board meetings are open to all members. Next meeting via Zoom 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12. .Email President Michael Phillips at mphillips@weatherboy.com for a link. Have news to share? Just email Gleanings editor Nancy Cook Lauer at nclauer@gmail.com for inclusion in an upcoming issue.
BIPC Newsmaker: Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission on-air and online
BIPC continued its series of Newsmakers last month with a televised panel on the state's Correctional Commission Oversight Commission, (https://hcsoc.hawaii.gov), featuring a panel addressing problems in Hawaii's prisons and jails.
The June 19 taping of the one-hour show at Na Leo Studio in Hilo airs on Hawaii public access television channels.
The remaining schedule: Fri., 7/14 5pm; Sat., 7/15 7am; Sun., 7/16 2pm; Mon., 7/17 10am; Or stream or download the video at https://vimeo.com/840246176
BIPC board member and film maker Robert Duerr, along with his wife Adriana, produced the show with their Bulldoggie Productions. The Duerrs are film award winners of a Cine Golden Eagle, Four Telly Awards, a Silver Telly Award and a Rome International Film Festival honor.
The show features moderator Kevin Dayton, a BIPC member and Honolulu Civil Beat reporter who writes on corrections issues; Christin Johnston, Oversight Coordinator of the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission and Commissioner Ron Ibarra, a community corrections advocate and retired Kona judge.
Hawaii journalist shield law is restored
BIPC members, along with other press organizations throughout the state, have been lobbying for the restoration of the journalist shield law for almost a decade. This legislative session, it finally happened.
(The below is reprinted with permission from the newsletter of the Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists)
Gov. Josh Green has signed a bill that would restore Hawaii law protecting confidential news sources of journalists.
Last month [June 23, 2023], the Hawaii Legislature passed House Bill 1502, which would reestablish the so-called Shield Law.
The measure was based on the 2008 law worked out by media law attorney Jeff Portnoy, thenAttorney General Mark Bennett and journalism professor Gerald Kato. It was a foresighted law that granted the source protection to those people who practiced journalism whether in traditional media or on the Internet.
HB1502 finds its roots in the 2008 law, which blocked the compelled disclosure of a confidential source of a journalist or newscaster. It also covered online journalists who published news of substantial public interest.
"We believe it achieved that delicate balance to protect the free flow of information in a democratic society while balancing the legitimate need for information in pursuit of justice," said retired University of Hawaii journalism professor Gerald Kato in written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Such protections are essential to the preservation of First Amendment freedoms embedded in our federal and state constitutions."
Today, Wyoming is the only state without a Shield Law or other legal protections for confidential sources. In 2013, the Hawaii Legislature did not extend the expiration of the 2008 law after some battles over making the law permanent.
The original Hawaii law was foresighted, envisioning that there were people doing the work of news reporters but not working for newspapers or radio or TV stations. Bloggers, such as Ian Lind, provide a service using the tools of a reporter but do not work for a traditional news outlet. (The law did not cover people who pass on information through social media.)
The law was in effect for three years and did not cause problems, and was tested in court once, in the case of a filmmaker working on documentary about Native Hawaiian burial sites, an issue clearly of public interest and concern. A committee of the state Supreme Court also had recommended that the law be made permanent.
The bill would grant the source- and note-protection in all civil cases except for libel cases in which the reporter is a named party. In criminal cases, there are some exceptions:
If there is probable cause to believe that the journalist has committed a crime or is about to commit a crime.
If the journalist observes an alleged crime, he or she will have to testify as a witness but does not have to reveal information gathered from a source.
In cases where there is substantial evidence that the information is important to the investigation of a felony, a three-part test would apply: The information cannot be obtained through alternative sources; the information is not available elsewhere; and the information is relevant.
If the reporter has information critical to prevent serious harm to life or public safety.
Stirling Morita, president of Hawaii Chapter SPJ, said, "The passage of this bill is sweet after the battles to make the 2008 law permanent. It validates the hard work of Jeff Portnoy, Mark Bennett and Gerry Kato in crafting this one-of-a-kind legislation.
"It would help to ensure the free flow of information that will benefit not only journalists, but the public as well."
2023 Big Island Press Club Board
Please feel free to contact any board members with your suggestions, or if you wish to volunteer!
President: Michael Phillips, journalist, meteorologist, Weather Channel <mphillips@weatherboy.com>
Vice President: Tiffany Edwards Hunt, former journalist, middle school teacher <newswoman@mac.com>
Treasurer: Bob Duerr, documentary film producer and Senior Active member of Outdoor Writers of America Association<surf77@me.com>
Secretary: Nancy Cook Lauer, retired journalist, advisor to Ke Kalahea UHH student newspaper, blogger www.allhawaiinews.com <nclauer@gmail.com>
Director: Ross Wilson, PR, Current Events <rossw@current-events.com>
Director: Royelen Lee Boykie, retired digital strategist and fundraiser <Royelen@bigislandpressclub.org>
Director: Patsy Iwasaki, professor, University of Hawaii-Hilo <piwasaki@hawaii.edu>
Director: Nate Gaddis, former journalist, real estate agent, <nategaddis@gmail.com>
Immediate Past President: John Burnett, journalist, Tribune-Herald <jburnett@hawaiitribuneherald.com>
