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.”
Archives: Judith Miller
The odd odyssey of Judith Miller, part 2
May 17, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: journalism.Miller and the New York Times have finally published their version of the controversy and an account of Miller’s testimony before the grand jury. This account is bound to raise questions and send critics howling. But one often-overlooked question is why Miller felt she had to determine whether or not her source’s release from her pledge of confidentiality was voluntary. All in all, this whole situation is probably a setback for the cause of a federal reporter’s shield law.
The odd odyssey of Judith Miller
May 17, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: journalism.New York Times reporter Judith Miller got her Get Out of Jail card last week, but her release wasn’t exactly free. She had come to an agreement to testify after being released from her confidentiality obligation by her source. And she has had to endure some pretty stinging criticism from fellow journalists who have questioned her motives. The bigger question — and one that David Ignatius raises in his column in the Washington Post — is where were the Times editors in all of this?