Governments often chafe at the presence of a free press. A robust and independent news media keeps a sharp eye on government and exposes abuse of power, corruption, incompetence, and waste.
Exposing such things depends, of course, not just on journalists but also on brave officials willing to sound the alarm about government misconduct. Even when their disclosures are clearly in the public interest, these whistle-blowers often hide their identities to avoid punishment.
Safeguarding the anonymity of reporters' sources is essential in the exercise of this critical role, a need that several federal courts have found is implicit in the First Amendment.
There is nothing of the sort, however, on the federal level, where the need is arguably greatest, in part because of the rapid evolution of electronic snooping and the fallout of sharply polarized politics.
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