In a controlled studio environment, the only good way to accomplish an adequate data connection to PC/laptop has been though USB tethering. In many of the situations journalists/filmmakers are are referring to, the "upload scenario" is likely impractical to achieve.
The ideas discussed in the comments here pretty much show that there's no simple solution to the journalists' quest, but this should hardly be a surprise. As we all know assuring "computer security is a hard problem".
What's really needed IMO is some way of automatically uploading photos (perhaps only selected photos if on a very low bw connection) directly to a remote server of the user's choice. And ideally doing so in a way that is secure and proof against accusations of tampering. As much as I've tried I haven't managed to make eye-fi's do that.
As regards being a position to extract the encryption password, there are a number of ways around this. One is a dual password system in which one password unlocks and the other one destroys. Another is for photojournalists to work in teams such that the person holding the camera doesn't know what the password is and thus can't give it up.
Finally, attempts to extract encryption are only as good as someone's susceptibility to fear and pain. It's not like evil people turn nice after they get what they want, so if someone is willing to use torture to extract information they're only slightly less willing to use it for pleasure; often the investigation is a mere excuse to engage in sadistic behavior. Understanding this (as opposed to being shocked that something bad could be happening to you) makes it far easier to deal with.