On Sept. 21, 2006, a US District Judge sentenced two reporters up to 18 months in prison for refusing to reveal their sources on leaked grand jury information about well-known baseball players using steroids. The federal judge stated that they should be punished to the full extent of the law in order to persuade the two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Mark Fianaru-Wada and Lance Williams, into revealing the identities of their informants. Although California Shield Laws protect journalists who refuse to disclose sources from being charged on a state level, journalists are left open for assault on the federal level. Williams and Fianaru-Wada face prosecution even with shield laws, which are laws that protect them from being subpoenaed by state judicial bodies if they refuse to disclose source information. Those laws were put in place for a reason. They allow previously unheard voices to be heard, which, without confidentiality, may be endangered by imprisonment or even worse–death. “I would not change none of this,” said Fianaru-Wada in a statement made in court, courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Lance and I find ourselves in this position because we were assigned to cover a story to the best of our ability.” His inspiring resolve mirrors the views of many, including we at The Skyline View. Fianaru-Wada and Williams stood firmly before a federal judge’s coercive tactics and held their ground, choosing imprisonment over cowardice. Although the prosecution allowed Williams and Fianaru-Wada the chance for an appeal to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to allow them to refuse to testify, their future is still uncertain. Legal though it may be; it is not constitutional to imprison a journalist for upholding their honor with regards to discretion. Without the certainty of confidentiality, sources will not reveal relevant information. The truth will be further buried because of the repercussions that face the few who were willing to divulge facts. The First Amendment guarantees the citizens of the United States a free public press. The First Amendment allows the press to be an independent organism, uncorrupted by bias and personal agendas and protected by law. Furthermore, the First Amendment allows US citizens to exercise freedom of speech that cannot be censored or snuffed.Our country is in dire need for federal shield laws. Without the freedom to protect journalists from keeping the identities of their sources, fear will resonate among the individuals who risk themselves for the publication of truth. If circumstances do not change, courage may not be enough to keep us from going to prison for simply upholding our duty as journalists.
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Editorial: Truth or dare to go to prison
October 17, 2006
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