Judith Miller, a reporter for the New York Times, was taken into custody today because she would not reveal her confidential sources to a grand jury investigating the naming of a CIA agent.
Matthew Cooper, a reporter for Time magazine who was threatened with jail in the same case, has said that his source has released him from his pledge of confidentiality and that he will testify before the grand jury.
This is a complex case that has been developing for many months. The Poynter Institute has put together a page of resources about this case. It also quotes its ethicist Bob Steele as saying, “I admire her fight on principle. I admire the spirit of journalistic independence. The result may be an additional traction point for the federal shield law cause.”
One of the best places to get information on “reporter’s privilege” is on the web site of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
This page looks at the privilege on a state-by-state basis.
(Posted July 6, 2005)
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Tags: Judith Miller, Matthew Cooper