Bill Text: NY A02207 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Expands the exemption provided to professional journalists and newscasters from contempt to include employment or association with a web log; defines web log as a website or webpage that contains an online journal containing news, comments and offers hyperlinks provided by the writer.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to governmental operations [A02207 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A02207-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2207

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 14, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, PAULIN -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to exemptions provided
          to professional journalists and newscasters from contempt

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) of section 79-h of the civil
     2  rights law, as amended by chapter 468 of the laws of 1981, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    (6) "Professional journalist" shall mean one who, for gain or  liveli-
     5  hood,  is engaged in gathering, preparing, collecting, writing, editing,
     6  filming, taping or photographing of news intended for a newspaper, maga-
     7  zine, news agency, press association [or], wire service or  web  log  or
     8  other  professional  medium  or  agency  which has as one of its regular
     9  functions the processing and researching of news  intended  for  dissem-
    10  ination  to  the  public;  such  person shall be someone performing said
    11  function either as a regular employee or as one otherwise professionally
    12  affiliated for gain or livelihood with such medium of communication.
    13    § 2. Subdivision (a) of section  79-h  of  the  civil  rights  law  is
    14  amended by adding a new paragraph 9 to read as follows:
    15    (9)  "Web log" shall mean a website or webpage that contains an online
    16  journal containing news, comments and offers hyperlinks provided by  the
    17  professional journalist or newscaster.
    18    §  3.  Subdivision  (b)  of  section  79-h of the civil rights law, as
    19  amended by chapter 33 of the  laws  of  1990,  is  amended  to  read  as
    20  follows:
    21    (b)   Exemption  of  professional  journalists  and  newscasters  from
    22  contempt: Absolute protection for confidential news. Notwithstanding the
    23  provisions of any general or specific law to the  contrary,  no  profes-
    24  sional  journalist  or  newscaster  presently  or having previously been
    25  employed or otherwise associated  with  any  newspaper,  magazine,  news

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00829-01-1
        A. 2207                             2

     1  agency,  press  association,  wire service, web log, radio or television
     2  transmission station or network or other professional medium of communi-
     3  cating news or information to the public shall be adjudged  in  contempt
     4  by  any court in connection with any civil or criminal proceeding, or by
     5  the legislature or other body having contempt powers, nor shall a  grand
     6  jury  seek  to  have  a journalist or newscaster held in contempt by any
     7  court, legislature or other body having contempt powers for refusing  or
     8  failing  to  disclose any news obtained or received in confidence or the
     9  identity of the source of  any  such  news  coming  into  such  person's
    10  possession  in the course of gathering or obtaining news for publication
    11  or to be published in a newspaper, magazine, web log or for broadcast by
    12  a radio or television transmission station  or  network  or  for  public
    13  dissemination  by  any  other professional medium or agency which has as
    14  one of its main functions the dissemination of news to  the  public,  by
    15  which  such person is professionally employed or otherwise associated in
    16  a news gathering capacity notwithstanding that the material or  identity
    17  of  a  source  of such material or related material gathered by a person
    18  described above performing a function described above is or is not high-
    19  ly relevant to a particular inquiry of  government  and  notwithstanding
    20  that  the  information was not solicited by the journalist or newscaster
    21  prior to disclosure to such person.
    22    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.