Mississippi Reporter Threatened with Jail Over Confidential Sources

​A new longform piece from ESPN documents the story of Anna Wolfe, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting revealed a $77 million welfare scandal involving former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant and former NFL quarterback Brett Favre. Shortly after Wolfe’s Pulitzer win, Bryant sued the reporter and her paper, Mississippi Today, for defamation – demanding in the process the release of all confidential source material.
 
The story in question details how Bryant played a role in a program that misallocated state funds intended for welfare recipients. Those dollars ended up in a variety of business and sporting venues, with much of the money going to Favre’s concussion drug company and a volleyball facility at his alma mater.
 
In May, a circuit court judge ordered Mississippi Today to hand over privileged materials as part of the discovery process. Wolfe and her co-defendant fellow employees refused and are now appealing to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
 
This is set to be a case of first impression in Mississippi, which is one of the few states in the country without a formal “shield law” that protects reporters from giving up confidential sources. Such protections are critical for newsgathering efforts, enabling whistleblowers to come forward and helping journalists bring to light malfeasance and hidden crimes that otherwise would have continued.
 
Defamation suits like Bryant’s, meanwhile, can slowly drain the coffers of small papers that may not be able to afford protracted legal battles – even where the claims are baseless. As the Committee to Protect Journalists wrote about this case:
 
“Defamation, whose purpose is to protect an individual’s reputation from false statements, is being weaponized globally to shield powerful individuals from criticism. Legal attacks on journalists – often dubbed lawfare – are often effective in compromising their safety, silencing public interest reporting, and eroding trust in the press.”
 
We hope that the Mississippi Supreme Court will enshrine a precedent protecting the notes and sources of journalists. The state legislature should follow up by passing statutory protections for reporters’ sources, with reasonable exceptions for emergencies.
 
Reporters run such risks at the hands of federal prosecutors, similarly unrestrained by the lack of a national press shield law. Many journalists have faced the prospect of being sent to prison for refusing to expose a source. Most recently, famed journalist Catherine Herridge is at risk of facing prison for refusing to betray a source.
 
This is why Protect The 1st advocates for the passage of the Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying (PRESS) Act, passed by the U.S. House, which establishes protection for reporters and their sources against federal prosecutors and other federal actors.