The Garden State has a shield law for journalists, meaning the government cannot force reporters or opinion writers to reveal their sources. There is nothing more vigorously defended among journalists than the right to keep secret one’s anonymous sources in service of “the public’s right to know.” The decades-long secret identity of “Deep Throat” in The Washington Post’s Watergate exposés is the standard of that journalistic principle. (And there is going to be reason to snicker at that example later. Be patient.) But a New Jersey state appellate court last weekruled that a woman named Shellee Hale is not a“real” journalist, but just a blogger, so is not protected by the state’s shield law. In the words of New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Judge Anthony J. Parrillo: “Simply put, new media should not be confused with news media.” This backward-looking, snobbish decision is troubling for many reasons. Before we get into the upcoming righteous outrage from someone who was a regular member of the “news media” for nearly 20 years — but is now a “new media” journalist — here’s some background on the case. Shellee Hale, who lives in Washington state, wrote in the comment section of a blog that New Jersey-based software company Too Much Media was the victim

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