Bzzt!
There are many digital scanners on the market - Radioshack and Bearcat sell them.
http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.j...canner&sr=1Perhaps you're thinking of encrypted digital, which is a whole different situation.
If you can cite specific law about news media, I'd love to see it.
I can cite tons of laws about radio scanning, and not a one grants news media any special legal protection.
The only thing that's universally illegal in the USA is scanning cell phones.