Gregg Harper on Journalist Shield Law

Washington Post - Senate Weighs New Shield Law

Five senior Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee in their criticism of the measure questioned the amount of lobbying done by media companies to get the bill passed.

"We hear a lot from the media about the evils of lobbying and how Congress is captive to special interests, but media outlets, in a very self-serving way, are lobbying House Members to support H.R. 985 [the House shield law] or face the consequences," wrote GOP Reps. Lamar Smith (Texas), the ranking minority member; F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (Wis.); Darrell E. Issa (Calif.); Steve King (Iowa) and Gregg Harper (Miss.). They called it "unseemly, and possibly unethical, to make phone calls and write editorials in support of this bill when the motive is so clearly one of self-interest."

The five Republicans said, "There is no way to quantify or report the value of a journalist's 'in-kind' contribution."