Illinois is poised to become the first state in the nation to explicitly protect the editorial independence of employees at public radio and television stations that are licensed to or affiliated with state colleges and universities.
The General Assembly has approved House Bill 4420, which extends provisions of the College Campus Press Act beyond student journalists at state-sponsored institutions to include professional journalists at public media outlets.
Heather Norman, general manager of Tri States Public Radio in Macomb and president of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council, said the legislation is not in response to any attempt in Illinois to interfere with public media licensed to state institutions. But she said it establishes Illinois as a leader in insulating public media from undue political influence and pressure at a time when colleges and universities are facing threats to their academic freedom.
“Throughout the country, we’ve watched this happen where university administrations have interfered in the editorial independence of the newsroom,” Norman said. “Now there's a precedent. Maybe this can happen in other states. The fight may be harder, but at least there's something out there that works to protect editorial independence of journalism in the state of Illinois."
Norman said the legislation, which now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker, creates a necessary “firewall” between public universities and their affiliated or licensed newsrooms.
The bill prohibits lawmakers or university officials from requiring review of public media content before it is published or aired, and it would allow journalists to seek court relief for violations of the law. It also shields universities from liability over content produced by public media outlets.
Nearly half of all NPR member stations across the country are affiliated with colleges and universities. In Illinois, eight colleges and universities operate radio and television stations that will have protections under the legislation.
Norman said in an era of expanding news deserts, the legislation will help bolster public media for future generations and help protect the free flow of information.
“The First Amendment, not just the right to free speech, but a right to free press is really under attack in ways that aren't always as visible to everyone unless you're sitting in the media and you're watching all this happen around you,” Norman said.
She said freedom of the press is important to democracy and to daily life.
“If anyone is suppressing that information, that's not right,” Norman said. “As public media stations, I think it's really important for us to stand up for those ideals because we do represent the public. That’s who we're supposed to stand up for.”
The Illinois Public Broadcasting Council, which represents 12 public radio and television stations across the state, worked to advance the legislation. The bill also received support from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which called it the bill “crucial, first-of-its-kind legislation to safeguard the editorial independence of public media."
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.
