Publisher’s Notebook:

‘Mel Gibson Bill’: AB 920—Whose First Is It?

BY ANNE SOBLE

AB 920, a bill to to prohibit the sale of privileged information by law enforcement personnel appears to be sailing through the legislative branch and destined for the governor’s desk. Few argue against disclosure of information that compromises due process rights, but others want assurance this isn’t a backdoor approach to First Amendment curbs. Establishment media, which intone the axiom that they do not pay for information, have kept their distance from the bill, for the most part viewing the measure as a slap at celebrity-oriented outlets. But the lines of journalism are blurring as the mainstream media increasingly take their cues from the deprecated celebrity hounds and benefit editorially and financially from news frenzies that follow sensational disclosures by celeb websites and print and network magazines. Establishment media pretend to hold their noses, but they eagerly jump into these frenzies, further legitimizing this form of journalism. If A pays for news, then B, C, D and E pick it up, who’s in violation of AB 920?

That journalists espouse not paying for news has always clashed with the fact that highly-paid publicists, PR firms, advocates and consultants are mainstays of the news-generating network. There is also the issue of blanket protection for free speech, which has never meant unremunerated. What about the view expressed by a longtime waiter in Malibu who supplements his income with tips to the glossies? “The writer gets paid and the photographer gets paid. I provide the information for what they write and shoot. Where is it written that this should be a free service?” Ultimately, what is or is not protected as freedom of speech is going to be subject to demands from the alternative media. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...” The Fourteenth Amendment makes that prohibition applicable to the states. Article I, Section 2(a) of the California Constitution provides that “every person may speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects....A law may not restrain or abridge liberty of speech or press.” There’s clearly still a lot to debate.