Senear v. Daily Journal-American

This is an appeal from a Superior Court order compelling disclosure by a newspaper reporter of the names of confidential news sources. The issue before this court is whether a newsperson's privilege against disclosure of confidential news sources in a civil action for libel is to be found in the first amendment of the constitution. While a newspaper's right to publish is firmly established under the First Amendment, left unsettled is whether the First Amendment implicitly guarantees the confidentiality of a newsperson's news sources in the civil context. The existence and extent of a…