Student journalists, bloggers and individuals seeking to gather information for the purpose of informing the public are protected by the language contained in the new version of the bill, which was agreed upon last week by lawmakers, the Obama administration and media organizations.

According to the amended text of HR 985, a covered person is, "A person with the primary intent to investigate events and procure material in order to disseminate to the public news or information ..."

Frank LoMonte, Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center, said the current definition of a journalist contained in the bill is good news for student news organizations.

"The compromise language is as good as student journalists could expect because it focuses on the news gathering aspect, not where your paycheck is coming from," LoMonte said. "As long as you set out to gather information to inform the public, you're protected."

LoMonte said this measure is especially important for students journalists, because they are often more vulnerable than professional journalists.

"Students especially need something like this because they are so vulnerable," he said. "Unlike someone at The New York Times, which has a huge legal department, student journalists don't have those kind of resources."

He said students are additionally important to protect because they are being asked to take on more important roles, acting as local news correspondents or freelancers for local papers.

"Students are engaging in real, big-time journalism and need the protection of real, big-time journalists," he said.

The bill protects journalists from being required to give their testimony relating to sources for a story. It also guards against obtaining reporters' phone and Internet records.

The current bill varies in the protection it offers, based on whether the case the reporter may be involved in is a civil, criminal or national security case.

Sophia Cope, legislative counsel for the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), said her organization is happy with the bill as it stands.

The NAA, Cope said, is the lead organization for the media working on the federal shield effort, representing over 2,000 newspapers and 70 other news organizations. She said ultimately, it would have been nice to have a stronger bill to protect reporters, but that the compromise has been fair.

"Overall, the [current] state of federal law is very weak in terms of protecting reporters and confidential sources, and inconsistent, because each circuit has done its own thing," she said. "A federal bill would bolster what the state laws have already been trying to do in encouraging whistleblowers while not unduly impeding law enforcement."

Cope said she is pleased with the definition of who is protected by the bill. A couple weeks ago, she said, there was a financial component required to define a person as a journalist.

"Our coalition has always been opposed to having a financial component," she said. "The NAA thinks it's important because journalism is done by lots of different people. We wouldn't want to exclude anybody who had been working with confidential sources and had published some good information that helps our country as a whole."

Cope also expressed hope that the bill will pass, now that the Obama administration has pledged its support.

A version of the bill passed the House on March 31, 2009. A similar bill stalled in the Senate when it lost the support of Obama administration, said The New York Times, because the administration wanted a version of the bill that would allow the government more leeway in cases that had national security concerns.

The bill regained momentum last week when lawmakers, the Obama administration and news organizations reached a compromise on the terms included in the bill, which would allow the government some leeway in requiring journalists to give up some information on sources when it has to do with public safety or terrorist activities.

If the bill passes the Senate Judiciary Committee, it will move on to the Senate to be voted on before heading to President Obama's desk for his signature.