HomeschoolrsRUs
03-09-2007, 08:56 AM
Jailed Man Is A Videographer And a Blogger but Is He a Journalist? - washingtonpost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030702454_pf.html)
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 8, 2007; C01
He is being cast by some journalists as a young champion of the First Amendment, jailed for taking a lonely stand against heavy-handed federal prosecutors.
Josh Wolf, a 24-year-old blogger, has spent more than six months behind bars in California -- the longest contempt-of-court term ever served by someone in the media -- for refusing to turn over a videotape he shot of a violent San Francisco demonstration against a Group of Eight summit meeting. Unless a mediation session today can break the impasse, he will likely remain imprisoned at least until the current grand jury's term expires in July.
"Even in high school, he was standing up for things that weren't considered popular," says his mother, Liz Wolf-Spada.
But Wolf's rationale for withholding the video, and refusing to testify, is less than crystal clear. There are no confidential sources involved in the case. He sold part of the tape to local television stations and posted another portion on his blog. Why, then, is he willing to give up his freedom over the remaining footage?
< snip , snip >
Wolf's case has attracted far less attention because he is not affiliated with any news outlet. Wolf-Spada, who says her son grew up with her in "a liberal Democratic household" after her divorce, urged members of Congress during a Washington visit to press the Justice Department to withdraw the subpoena.
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 8, 2007; C01
He is being cast by some journalists as a young champion of the First Amendment, jailed for taking a lonely stand against heavy-handed federal prosecutors.
Josh Wolf, a 24-year-old blogger, has spent more than six months behind bars in California -- the longest contempt-of-court term ever served by someone in the media -- for refusing to turn over a videotape he shot of a violent San Francisco demonstration against a Group of Eight summit meeting. Unless a mediation session today can break the impasse, he will likely remain imprisoned at least until the current grand jury's term expires in July.
"Even in high school, he was standing up for things that weren't considered popular," says his mother, Liz Wolf-Spada.
But Wolf's rationale for withholding the video, and refusing to testify, is less than crystal clear. There are no confidential sources involved in the case. He sold part of the tape to local television stations and posted another portion on his blog. Why, then, is he willing to give up his freedom over the remaining footage?
< snip , snip >
Wolf's case has attracted far less attention because he is not affiliated with any news outlet. Wolf-Spada, who says her son grew up with her in "a liberal Democratic household" after her divorce, urged members of Congress during a Washington visit to press the Justice Department to withdraw the subpoena.