South Florida SPJ Sends Letter Supporting Shield Law
The South Florida Society of Professional Journalists sent a letter encouraging Sen. Bill Nelson to fight for the passage of the federal shield law, which is expected to hit the Senate floor Monday.
The letter is below:
Dear Sen. Nelson,
The South Florida chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists wish to add its scores of voices to those of the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who actively support the adoption of Senate Bill 2035, the federal shield law sometimes known as the Free Flow of Information Act.
Coming from Florida with its public access laws that are the envy of the nation, you understand better than most the overwhelming public benefit that derives when the news media are allowed to carry out unfettered the role that the Founding Fathers envisioned for them when they made them the only business given safeguards in the U.S. Constitution.
We urge you to not simply vote for, but fight for passage of this bill.
Signed,
Julie Kay, president
Darcie Lunsford, past president
Wm. F. Hirschman, treasurer