Sun Flashbacks: Reporter’s actions led to ‘Newburn law’

Saturday, July 1, 2000 | 2:04 a.m.

Dan Newburn, a special investigations reporter and columnist from 1976-1996, on how he got hired by the Sun and how the "Dan Newburn law" became part of the Nevada Shield Law to better protect reporters:

"When Howard Hughes' attorney Richard Grey died, his widow called me to help her prove to Summa (Hughes' gaming corporation) that some lounge furniture outside their room at the Sands belonged to her because they wouldn't let her take it.

"We went through Richard's papers and couldn't find anything about the lounge furniture, but we found a whole lot of evidence from a lawsuit filed against Hank Greenspun by Summa that proved what Hank had been saying was true.

"I took the papers to Hank. He looked at them and said: 'How would you like to be in the newspaper business?' Hank won the lawsuit and it served Summa right that their pettiness over a couple of lawn chairs cost them a couple of million dollars.

"I joined the Sun and started going around the country interviewing people for stories about the Howard Hughes will case.

"We got sued and the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that because I was giving sources information about the will to get information, I was not protected by the Shield Law. Because of what happened to me, that loophole has since been changed and is referred to as the 'Dan Newburn law.' "