Saturday, September 16, 2006

Josh Wolf, American Blogger Jailed in America for ...

Poynter Online is an interesting source for news stories being discussed by journalists. The latest headline to catch my eye was Jailed Video Blogger Loses Appeal .

Yesterday, Red Herring reported that freelance journalist Josh Wolf's appeal was rejected by a three-member federal court panel on Friday. Wolf was jailed for refusing to release video he shot of a violent protest last summer.

Because the protest turned violent — a police officer suffered a fractured skull and a small explosive device was put under a police car—San Francisco’s chief of police called in the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate.

Government officials disagree with Wolf regarding his right as a freelance journalist to choose not to allow a 15-minute chunk of footage from the protest to be used as evidence.

California’s shield law protects journalists from being forced by subpoena to reveal sources. But questions have been raised over Wolf’s journalist status.

In post 9/11 America, even journalists with mainstream news publications are facing increasing scrutiny, such as The New York Times’ Judith Miller, who spent time behind bars for an alleged CIA leak in 2005.


You can keep up with the news here on Josh's Blog.

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