Judge shields Wichita Eagle reporter’s confidential sources

? A Sedgwick County judge says The Wichita Eagle does not have to disclose confidential sources, in a ruling believed to be the first test of a new shield law in Kansas.

Judge William Woolley ruled Tuesday that the new law prohibits journalists from being compelled to provide unpublished information that could be obtained elsewhere.

The Eagle reported the ruling comes in a civil lawsuit filed against a Wichita inflatable amusement company by the mother of a boy who died on a ride.

She sought the names of two former workers who told reporter Suzanne Perez Tobias that they were taught to “launch” children from the ride.