The jailing of New York Times report Judith Miller sends “a chilling message” to all reporters and could impede the free flow of information, according to the Radio-Television News Directors Association.
In a statement posted July 6 on the association’s Web site, RTNDA president Barbara Cochran said “the most effective way” to support Miller is “to work for swift passage of a federal shield law.”
RTNDA members should contact Congress and urge them to support pending legislation in both houses, she said. “Protecting a reporter’s right to confidential sources is essential to preserving the public’s right to know and to hold government accountable for its actions,” she said. Miller was jailed after refusing to reveal sources in her reporting on the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent.
For more information, visit www.rtnda.org.
