Reporters Under Siege? Nobody Cares

(AP)

That's the sentiment underlying David Carr's piece in the New York Times this morning which looks at the growing number of cases of reporters receiving subpoenas. Case in point – the Hearst Corporation, where the general counsel tells Carr she has seen 80 "newsgathering subpoenas" in just the past 18 months. In the two years prior, she saw just four or five (the Times is no stranger to such cases either, of course). Despite the worries among the journalistic community of a chilling effect on reporting, there also appears to be a realization that the public at large is unsympathetic at best. From Carr:

Within the news business, there is a consensus that the roof is caving in on the legal protections for working journalists. But the general public does not hold the craft in much esteem lately. Years of journalistic mis- and malfeasance have left many people thinking the Fourth Estate could use a little oversight, regardless of where it comes from.

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