Fla. Stat. § 90.5015 — Journalist’s privilege

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(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term:

  1. (a) “News” means information of public concern relating to local, statewide, national, or worldwide issues or events.
  2. (b) “Professional journalist” means a person regularly engaged in collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing news, for gain or livelihood, who obtained the information sought while working as a salaried employee of, or independent contractor for, a newspaper, news journal, news agency, press association, wire service, radio or television station, network, or news magazine. Book authors and others who are not professional journalists, as defined in this paragraph, are not included in the provisions of this section.

(2) PRIVILEGE.—A professional journalist has a qualified privilege not to be a witness concerning, and not to disclose the information, including the identity of any source, that the professional journalist has obtained while actively gathering news. This privilege applies only to information or eyewitness observations obtained within the normal scope of employment and does not apply to physical evidence, eyewitness observations, or visual or audio recording of crimes. A party seeking to overcome this privilege must make a clear and specific showing that:

  1. (a) The information is relevant and material to unresolved issues that have been raised in the proceeding for which the information is sought;
  2. (b) The information cannot be obtained from alternative sources; and
  3. (c) A compelling interest exists for requiring disclosure of the information.

Protecting the Free Press: This statute provides a "qualified privilege" for professional journalists, designed to protect the free flow of information to the public. It allows journalists to protect their sources and unpublished information from being forcibly disclosed in court.

Who is Protected?

The privilege applies to a "professional journalist," defined as someone regularly engaged in gathering and reporting news for a living for a recognized news organization. It does not apply to book authors or others not meeting this definition.

What is Protected?

The privilege protects a journalist from being forced to testify about or disclose information they obtained while gathering news. This includes the identity of confidential sources. However, it does not protect physical evidence or a journalist's own eyewitness observations of a crime.

A Qualified, Not Absolute, Privilege:

This privilege is "qualified," meaning it is not absolute and can be overcome. A party who wants to force a journalist to reveal information must convince a judge of all three of the following:

  • Relevant and Material: The information is directly relevant to a key unresolved issue in the case.
  • No Alternative Sources: The information cannot be obtained from any other person or source.
  • A Compelling Interest: There is a crucial, overriding need for the information that outweighs the public interest in protecting the free press.
§ 90.501 § 90.502
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