It looks like the Justice Dept. Opposes Shield for Reporters, which is unfortunate. Even more so is that according to this article, the hearing today apparently went pretty badly for online newsgatherers: The revised language would limit protection to corporate units involved in gathering and disseminating news. I'm trying to get a copy so I can see for myself.
I have to say that if the bill is as limited as this article describes, it's not clear to me that it is better than the current state of affairs. Once there is a federal shield law, it will be hard to change. In this Q&A at WashingtonpostOnline, Geneva Overholser, who I've always been a fan of, said: I've been told that the best way to go about this is not to attempt to define who is a journalist, but rather to consider (in any given instance) whether the material at hand is journalism. Easier to see, for example, whether the information was gathered in the interest of the public, whether it conforms to journalistic norms, etc., than whether the one gathering it is a journalist.
This is what the law should say.