Editorial
San Francisco Chronicle
Sept. 20, 2005
Excerpt:
The politics here aren’t the point. It’s the principle. [Jailed New York Times reporter Judith] Miller is neither a cop nor a prosecutor. She’s a reporter who needs to shield her sources in order to do her job. By putting this belief into action, she’s paying a months-long sentence of jail time.
The best-possible spin on this case is that she may be sprung on Oct. 28, when the grand jury considering her case winds up its term. A better response would be a federal shield law.
But the best result of all would be public support for the constitutional rule behind her stance. The right of the press to do its job is being locked up in the same cell as Miller.
