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Journalists Rally for Press Freedom as Judge Sends Reporter to Jail
Reporters found at protests are typically observers with notebooks, pens and cameras. But on July 6, scores of journalists turned out with picket signs at federal courthouses to take a stand for a press free from government interference.
The noon-hour demonstrations, organized by The Newspaper Guild-CWA, took place as a federal judge sent New York Times reporter Judith Miller to jail for contempt of court. Miller, who faces four months in jail, has refused to reveal her sources to the federal prosecutor leading the investigation of White House leaks that unmasked the identity of a covert CIA agent.
"Guild members and their colleagues in the journalism community were uncharacteristically vocal and public about their support for an issue that goes to the heart of what a free press means to working journalists," TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said.
The rallies, along with newsroom vigils that called for two minutes of silence at noon, took place from Honolulu to Boston, including Rochester, N.Y., Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, Eugene, Ore., Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles and other cities.
Newsroom staffers at the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News stood for two minutes of silence at noon, while Guild members and four Association of Flight Attendants-CWA members handed out flyers in front of Denver's federal courthouse. At the Baltimore Sun, several editors joined their union colleagues in the silent vigil. Other participating locals included Honolulu, Knoxville and Kingston, N.Y.
The protests supported Miller while calling attention to the need for a national shield law to protect reporters who refuse to reveal the identity of anonymous sources—often the only way journalists, and the public, learn about government misdeeds and cover-ups. Bipartisan legislation to enact such a law has been introduced in Congress by Representatives Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and by Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.).
TNG and CWA representatives are lobbying for the legislation and working with fellow advocates, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. At a strategy meeting, media law attorney Kurt Wimmer said while the Miller case has received the most publicity, it's far from the only government assault on the public's right to know.
Wimmer said more subpoenas were issued to reporters between April and June this year than in all of 2004, reflecting a growing sense among prosecutors that if the New York Times can't protect its employees, other newspapers will be even more vulnerable.
"There is already a public consensus that shield laws are important to a free press," Foley said. "Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have protections for reporters who don't want to divulge their sources. There is no federal shield law, which is why Judith Miller is sitting in jail."
The noon-hour demonstrations, organized by The Newspaper Guild-CWA, took place as a federal judge sent New York Times reporter Judith Miller to jail for contempt of court. Miller, who faces four months in jail, has refused to reveal her sources to the federal prosecutor leading the investigation of White House leaks that unmasked the identity of a covert CIA agent.
"Guild members and their colleagues in the journalism community were uncharacteristically vocal and public about their support for an issue that goes to the heart of what a free press means to working journalists," TNG-CWA President Linda Foley said.
The rallies, along with newsroom vigils that called for two minutes of silence at noon, took place from Honolulu to Boston, including Rochester, N.Y., Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, Eugene, Ore., Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles and other cities.
Newsroom staffers at the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News stood for two minutes of silence at noon, while Guild members and four Association of Flight Attendants-CWA members handed out flyers in front of Denver's federal courthouse. At the Baltimore Sun, several editors joined their union colleagues in the silent vigil. Other participating locals included Honolulu, Knoxville and Kingston, N.Y.
The protests supported Miller while calling attention to the need for a national shield law to protect reporters who refuse to reveal the identity of anonymous sources—often the only way journalists, and the public, learn about government misdeeds and cover-ups. Bipartisan legislation to enact such a law has been introduced in Congress by Representatives Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and by Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.).
TNG and CWA representatives are lobbying for the legislation and working with fellow advocates, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. At a strategy meeting, media law attorney Kurt Wimmer said while the Miller case has received the most publicity, it's far from the only government assault on the public's right to know.
Wimmer said more subpoenas were issued to reporters between April and June this year than in all of 2004, reflecting a growing sense among prosecutors that if the New York Times can't protect its employees, other newspapers will be even more vulnerable.
"There is already a public consensus that shield laws are important to a free press," Foley said. "Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have protections for reporters who don't want to divulge their sources. There is no federal shield law, which is why Judith Miller is sitting in jail."