Byline: Seattle Times Staff and The Associated Press
People who post to online message boards don't have the same protections as mainstream journalists when it comes to keeping their sources secret, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a case involving a Bellevue-area woman.
The court said in a unanimous ruling against Shellee Hale, of Clyde Hill, that New Jersey's shield law provides broad protection to the news media and is not limited to traditional news outlets such as newspapers and magazines, but does not apply to message-board posters.
"To ensure that the privilege does not apply to every self-appointed newsperson, the Legislature requires that other means of disseminating news be 'similar' to traditional news sources to qualify for the law's coverage," Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote for the court in its 5-0 ruling.
The case involved a New Jersey software company named Too Much Media, which sued the woman for defamation and wanted her to reveal sources she had cited in message-board posts. The company makes software used by many online porn sites to track traffic from other sites to determine how much those sites should be paid in commissions.
Three years ago, Hale posted comments on an online bulletin board that accused the company of engaging in fraudulent practices and of threatening the life of someone who divulged details about it, according to a court filing.
Hale claimed she was gathering information for an investigation of organized-crime infiltration of the online porn industry and planned to publish her findings on a website and possibly in a book. She invoked the shield law, to avoid identifying the person who was threatened and another source who first told her of the threats.
On Tuesday, she told The Seattle Times she was disappointed in the ruling.
"I believe I deserved the right to protect a source," she said.
New Jersey's law is one of the broadest in the country in its protection of journalists' sources. But it dates to 1977 -- long before the Internet brought a sea change to news distribution.
The law protects anyone "engaged on, engaged in, connected with, or employed by news media for the purpose of gathering, procuring, transmitting, compiling, editing or disseminating news for the general public, newspapers, magazines, press associations, news agencies, wire services, radio, television or other similar printed, photographic, mechanical or electronic means of disseminating news to the general public."
In Tuesday's ruling, however, the court concluded the material at the heart of the case was posted to online message boards, which the justices said are simply forums for discussion and don't fit the definition of news media as described by the law.
Hale contests that she was reposting statements she had also written on Pornafia, her now-defunct blog about the pornography industry and crime.
"We never believed any court would find that Ms. Hale was a journalist," said Joel N. Kreizman, an attorney for Too Much Media. "What the court found was that these message boards are online conversations and are no more journalistic than any other conversations."
He added: "If the court were to have considered her a member of the media, anyone could say they are a member of the media to protect their sources."
Hale has stopped investigating pornography websites. She now fixes her attention on finding missing persons, and volunteers as an administrative aide with the King County Search and Rescue Association.
Seattle Times staff reporter J.B. Wogan contributed to this report.
Copyright (c) 2011 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.
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