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The 2025 Florida Statutes
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F.S. 90.501590.5015 Journalist’s privilege.—(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term:(a) “News” means information of public concern relating to local, statewide, national, or worldwide issues or events. (b) “Professional journalist” means a person regularly engaged in collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing news, for gain or livelihood, who obtained the information sought while working as a salaried employee of, or independent contractor for, a newspaper, news journal, news agency, press association, wire service, radio or television station, network, or news magazine. Book authors and others who are not professional journalists, as defined in this paragraph, are not included in the provisions of this section. (2) PRIVILEGE.—A professional journalist has a qualified privilege not to be a witness concerning, and not to disclose the information, including the identity of any source, that the professional journalist has obtained while actively gathering news. This privilege applies only to information or eyewitness observations obtained within the normal scope of employment and does not apply to physical evidence, eyewitness observations, or visual or audio recording of crimes. A party seeking to overcome this privilege must make a clear and specific showing that:(a) The information is relevant and material to unresolved issues that have been raised in the proceeding for which the information is sought; (b) The information cannot be obtained from alternative sources; and (c) A compelling interest exists for requiring disclosure of the information. (3) DISCLOSURE.—A court shall order disclosure pursuant to subsection (2) only of that portion of the information for which the showing under subsection (2) has been made and shall support such order with clear and specific findings made after a hearing. (4) WAIVER.—A professional journalist does not waive the privilege by publishing or broadcasting information. (5) CONSTRUCTION.—This section must not be construed to limit any privilege or right provided to a professional journalist under law. (6) AUTHENTICATION.—Photographs, diagrams, video recordings, audio recordings, computer records, or other business records maintained, disclosed, provided, or produced by a professional journalist, or by the employer or principal of a professional journalist, may be authenticated for admission in evidence upon a showing, by affidavit of the professional journalist, or other individual with personal knowledge, that the photograph, diagram, video recording, audio recording, computer record, or other business record is a true and accurate copy of the original, and that the copy truly and accurately reflects the observations and facts contained therein. (7) ACCURACY OF EVIDENCE.—If the affidavit of authenticity and accuracy, or other relevant factual circumstance, causes the court to have clear and convincing doubts as to the authenticity or accuracy of the proffered evidence, the court may decline to admit such evidence. (8) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this section or its application to any particular person or circumstance is held invalid, that provision or its application is severable and does not affect the validity of other provisions or applications of this section. History.—s. 1, ch. 98-48; s. 20, ch. 2023-8.
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Annotations, Discussions, Cases:
Cases Citing Statute 90.5015
Total Results: 15
984 So. 2d 478, 2008 WL 596700
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 6, 2008 | Docket: 1288177
Cited 68 times | Published
mediation parties regarding mediation communication); § 90.5015, Fla. Stat. (2006) (providing for journalist's
782 So. 2d 339, 25 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 909, 2000 Fla. LEXIS 2043, 2000 WL 1587794
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Oct 26, 2000 | Docket: 456391
Cited 14 times | Published
Records and Reports); 98-48, section 1 (creating section 90.5015, Florida Statutes, Journalist's privilege);
817 So. 2d 901, 2002 WL 879409
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 8, 2002 | Docket: 1430195
Cited 9 times | Published
has obtained while actively gathering news." § 90.5015(2), Fla. Stat. (2001) (emphasis added). The statute
720 So. 2d 220, 1998 WL 732918
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Oct 22, 1998 | Docket: 1719051
Cited 7 times | Published
98-48, Laws of Florida, provides as follows:
Section 90.5015, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
90.5015
132 So. 3d 176
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jan 3, 2014 | Docket: 400989
Cited 4 times | Published
qualified journalist‟s privilege set forth in
section 90.5015, Florida Statutes (2013). The court also excluded
20 So. 3d 947, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 14516, 2009 WL 3110102
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 30, 2009 | Docket: 1177537
Cited 3 times | Published
(citations omitted). The privilege is governed by section 90.5015, Florida Statutes, which expressly provides
741 So. 2d 572, 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 11129, 1999 WL 631700
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 20, 1999 | Docket: 1511151
Cited 3 times | Published
qualified journalist's privilege statute, section 90.5015(2), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1998), bars discovery
739 So. 2d 142, 27 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 2438, 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 9524, 1999 WL 548973
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 16, 1999 | Docket: 1688825
Cited 2 times | Published
Ulrich spoke with in his investigation.
*143 Section 90.5015, Florida Statutes (effective May 12, 1998)
195 F.R.D. 39, 27 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1051, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23078, 1998 WL 1285304
District Court, N.D. Florida | Filed: Jun 9, 1998 | Docket: 66012567
Cited 2 times | Published
specified information. The bill, which created Section 90.5015, Florida Statutes, was signed by the Governor
142 So. 3d 978, 2014 WL 3730009, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 11606
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 30, 2014 | Docket: 3598
Cited 1 times | Published
provisions of both the journalist’s privilege (§ 90.5015) and the spousal privilege (§ 90.504).
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 7, 2020 | Docket: 18512285
Published
protected by the journalist privilege pursuant to section 90.5015, Florida
Statutes (2019). We conclude that
199 So. 3d 556, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 13811, 2016 WL 4917049
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 14, 2016 | Docket: 60256642
Published
journalist enjoys a qualified privilege under section 90.5015, Florida Statutes (2016), to not be a witness
56 So. 3d 104, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 3181, 36 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D 514
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 9, 2011 | Docket: 60298492
Published
under Florida’s “journalist’s privilege,” section 90.5015, Florida Statutes (2010).
We find that WTVJ
721 So. 2d 838, 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 15940, 1998 WL 880918
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 18, 1998 | Docket: 64784674
Published
asserted the journalist qualified privilege under section 90.5015, Florida Statute.1
Jones has filed a suggestion
709 So. 2d 660, 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 5807, 1998 WL 259901
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 22, 1998 | Docket: 64780288
Published
the trial court can consider the pertinence of § 90.5015, Fla. Stat. (Supp.1998), at its earliest convenience
