IN THE NEWS - Reporter Jailed for Not Telling Who Identified

IN THE NEWS - Reporter Jailed for Not Telling Who Identified C.I.A. Officer
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, July 09, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

 
Judith Miller¹
New York Times reporter Judith Miller went to jail this week after she refused to say who told her the name of a C.I.A. officer. A federal judge said Miz Miller was violating the law, although she is not charged with a crime.

Miz Miller told the judge that if reporters cannot be trusted to protect the names of sources, then a free press does not exist.

In two thousand three, a number of reporters were told that a woman named Valerie Plame worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. She is married to a former ambassador, Joseph Wilson.

One of those given the information, Robert Novak, wrote about Miz Plame. His story appeared eight days after The New York Times published an opinion article written by Mister Wilson. In it, he accused the Bush administration of giving false reasons to go to war in Iraq. Joseph Wilson suggests that his wife's name was leaked to the media to punish him.

It is a crime to knowingly identify a secret agent. No one has yet been charged.

Investigators² studied government telephone records to learn which reporters had spoken to officials in the Bush administration. Among them were Judith Miller and Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper. But they refused to say who provided the information.

Last week, the Supreme³ Court refused to consider appeals by the two reporters. After that, Time surrendered Mister Cooper's notes and e-mail messages, over his objections. But Mister Cooper is not going to jail. On Wednesday he said the person he promised to protect had spoken to him again and released him from that promise.

The New York Times says naming sources may make it difficult to get information about illegal activities in government or business. Federal officials say no reporter is above the law.

The idea that government should not restrict the media is based on a few words in the First Amendment⁴ to the Constitution. It says: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging⁵ the freedom of speech, or of the press."

Other reporters over the years have refused to cooperate with investigators and have gone to jail. Today almost all states, but not the federal government, have what are called shield laws. Reporters can keep some information secret in the interest of public trust. Yet, these days, public opinion research shows that the public does not seem to trust the media very much.

Matt Cooper says it a sad day when reporters are threatened with jail for just doing their jobs.

Unlike Mister Cooper, Judith Miller never wrote a story about the information she received. She is to remain in jail until she cooperates or until October. That is when the term of the grand jury investigating the case ends. It is unclear why Robert Novak is not in the same situation. He will not say if he has spoken to investigators.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 abridging   

节略( abridge的现在分词 )； 减少； 缩短； 剥夺（某人的）权利（或特权等）

参考例句：

• He's currently abridging his book. 他正在对他的书进行删节。
• First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech." （美国宪法）第一修正案规定议会不应该通过减损（公民）言论自由的法律。