What legal protection is available to journalists?

In North Carolina, journalists are protected under the federal and state constitutions and several state laws. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides some of the most important protections for journalists, granting them the right to report news without interference from the government. North Carolina’s state constitution guarantees freedom of speech and of the press, as well as the right to access public records and attend court proceedings. In addition, North Carolina has laws that protect journalists from being held liable for libel, so long as their reporting is accurate and not malicious. This protection extends even to people who comment on or share content posted by journalists. There are also laws in North Carolina that limit the ability of a government official to issue a subpoena or search warrant against a journalist without first obtaining a court order. Finally, North Carolina law also grants journalists a qualified privilege to protect confidential sources. This qualified privilege allows journalists to keep their sources of information confidential unless the person seeking the information can prove in court that they have a “necessity” for the information. This helps protect journalists who rely on confidential sources to report newsworthy information.

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What legal protection is available to journalists?

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