[Our friend Geanne Rosenberg is both a journalist and a lawyer, so she's well positioned to analyze the ongoing legal controversy surrounding student journalists at Northwestern. Geanne is founding chair of the Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions at CUNY's Baruch College in New York. —Ed.]

Northwestern University Journalism Professor David Protess is accomplishing what many journalism schools and departments are increasingly seeking to accomplish: educating students through the actual creation of high quality news information that’s in the public interest. That’s good for the students, good for the educational institution, and good for society.

But the state of Illinois is sabotaging Northwestern’s noble efforts and delivering a chilling message to journalism schools and programs around the country.

In a widely reported controversy, Illinois prosecutors responded to a Protess-led, university-based journalistic investigation of a 31-year-old murder conviction with subpoenas seeking “virtually every conceivable record” relating to the school’s newsgathering activities, including records of interviews, the professor’s communications with student journalists, receipts and records regarding expenses, class syllabi, grading criteria and student grades, according to a motion by Northwestern and its affiliates seeking a protective order quashing the subpoenas.

The subpoenas have led to questions about whether Illinois’ shield law extends to student journalists and, more broadly, raise questions about legal protections and risks for amateur and unaffiliated journalists and for journalism educators and educational institutions. These questions are becoming more important with the growing impact and value of student and amateur journalism. Keep reading »