Are journalist shield laws unconstitutional?

[BKH70041]

6. Complicated Question w/ No Easy Answer

I'm uncomfortable with having the government define what is and/or isn't a journalist.

For a journalist not to have to reveal their sources is something that is useful. There's people who simply wouldn't talk if they thought what they were revealing might harm them; we all know that. OTOH how many times have journalists just made people up (the "Sources close to the..." thing) to create a story? It's hard to know what to and what not to believe anymore.

But how far of a scope should that extend when it comes to those who refer to themselves as journalist? It may just have to come down to a case-by-case basis. Regardless of the decision, not everyone is going to be happy, of that we can agree.