Guest Column

SAN FRANCISCO—Dozens of ethnic media outlets have partnered with New California Media (NCM) in response to what they consider a direct attempt to limit the freedom of the press as “watchdog of the public good.”

NCM, a national association of ethnic news outlets, issued a statement Friday in protest of the jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller. The statement also called for a national shield law to protect journalists from being forced to reveal their confidential sources.

Since, the statement has been signed by more than 30 ethnic news outlets representing diverse populations from across the country, including Chinese, Korean, African American, Hispanic, Japanese, Indian and Iranian, among others.

Ethnic media in the United States represent and cover ethnic and minority populations that account for 64 million of the country's 115 million adults. They often do not have the funds or the visibility of mainstream media, yet many commit a great deal of their resources to inform audiences whose freedoms have been threatened or curtailed as a result of the War on Terror and tighter immigration laws.

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ETHNIC CALL FOR A NATIONAL SHIELD LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTS

As reporters, editors and publishers affiliated with NCM, a coalition of 700 ethnic media organizations in the United States, we join all our colleagues in journalism in protesting the imprisonment of Judith Miller of
the New York Times and calling for a national shield law legislation that protects journalists from being compelled to reveal their confidential sources.

The prosecution of journalists for refusing to reveal their confidential sources is a serious threat to the fourth estate’s ability to report the news and investigate instances of wrongdoing such as corporate malfeasance,
political abuse, organized crime and government corruption, in which confidential sources are indispensable. Our inability to protect the identity of whistleblowers and eyewitnesses undermines the public’s right to know and, ultimately, the administration of justice.

During the past year more than 70 journalists and news organizations have been entangled in federal court over access to unpublished, confidential information. Several have been subpoenaed for their records or testimony. Jim Taricani, a television reporter in Rhode Island, served a sentence for refusing to identify an anonymous source. At least nine journalists—including Miller and Matthew Cooper of Time Magazine--have been held in contempt and face the threat of imprisonment or heavy fines or both.

These prosecuted journalists work for mainstream media organizations. They were vulnerable despite their organizations’ resources and high public profile. Their plight has an especially chilling effect on reporters,
editors and publishers of ethnic media, which are far more isolated even though our media reach one out of four American adults (NCM National Poll, June 2005).

Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia, through legislation or court decision, have adopted "shield laws" that protect journalists from having to divulge sources of information given them in confidence. Some federal courts recognize such a shield, but most do not. It is time for a national shield law that recognizes journalists as unique watchdogs of the public good.

Signed,

New California Media (NCM)
ABS-CBN International – The Filipino Channel
Azteca News
Chinese Seattle News
Connecting the Dots - KPOO 89.5 FM
Daily Sports Seoul
Duowei Times
El Despacho del Valle de Capistrano
El Hispanic News y más
El Mensajero
El Observador
El Sol San Diego
Hai Van Newspaper

HispanicVista.com
India Currents
La Voz Bilingual Newspaper
Media Alliance
Nichi Bei Times
New York Magazine (Romanian)
Onyx Woman Magazine
Pacific Citizen Newspaper
Pezhvak of Persia
Philippine News
Philippine Village Voice
Sing Tao San Francsico
Sri Lanka Express
Sun Reporter
The Korea Daily San Francisco
The Korea Times Los Angeles
The Korea Times Chicago
The Tennessee Tribune Newspaper
World Journal San Francisco

TIMELINE IN THE JUDITH MILLER CASE

July 6, 2003 - Op-ed article by Joseph C Wilson, former ambassador to Gabon, concludes some intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted by Bush administration to exaggerate Iraqi threat

July 14, 2003 - Robert Novak publishes column exposing Valerie Plame, wife of Joseph C Wilson, as a CIA official.

July 17, 2003 - Matthew Cooper, reporter for Time magazine writes that government officials have told him Wilson's wife is a CIA official monitoring WMD.

Sept 28, 2003  - The Washington Post says White House officials had contacted six Washington reporters to disclose Plame's CIA identity. The presumed motive was retaliation for Wilson's criticism of the Bush administration’s claims of Iraq acquiring uranium

August 11, 2004 - Miller is subpoenaed by a Washington grand jury investigating the leaking to Robert Novak and other journalists that Valerie Plame was an undercover CIA officer. Miller had been investigating a story on Plame, which was never published.

October 7, 2004 - Federal judge finds Miller in contempt for refusing to provide evidence to a grand jury on who leaked the name of Valerie Plame to Robert Novak. Miller is sentenced to 18 months imprisonment but remains free until an appeal is heard.

Aug 23, 2004  - Cooper agrees to give a deposition after Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, releases Cooper from a promise of confidentiality.

February 15, 2005 - A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in Washington unanimously rules that Miller and Cooper who have refused to name their sources to a grand jury investigating the disclosure of the identity of a covert C.I.A. agent should be jailed for contempt.

July 6, 2005  - Judith Miller is sentenced to four months in jail for refusing to divulge her sources in researching an article she never wrote.

 

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