In this history of debate over journalists’ confidential sources, starting in 1894, Smith employs contemporary theories of constitutional interpretation to weave a surprising narrative melding legislature-made statutory law and court-made constitutional law. Working under the banner of "popular constitutionalism," Smith tests Michael Gerhardt’s theory of non-judicial precedents to illuminate the role journalists and press advocates played in shaping the path of constitutional law and giving voice to deeply felt First Amendment values. Along the way, the author corrects the historical record in important ways, including recasting events that led to the nation’s first shield law in 1896.