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Newspaper Withholding Publication of Article Due to Fear of Jail or Fines
July 12, 2005
Cleveland Plain Dealer Announced that the the paper would withhold publication of investigative articles due to concern that paper would face fines or jail for reporters.
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Doug Clifton, editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the largest daily paper in Ohio, announced yesterday that the paper would not publish two major investigative stories because key material comes from illegally-leaked documents. He likened the situation to that of The New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who was sent to jail last week for refusing to reveal her source in the investigation into the leak of a CIA agent’s name.
According to Clifton, the paper’s attorneys advised that if the stories were published and an investigation ensued, the paper would almost certainly face fines or jail for the reporters. Clifton also said that the reporters themselves were willing to stand by their stories and go to jail, if necessary.
Nonetheless, the owner of The Plain Dealer, Advance Publications, recommended withholding the stories.
Though he was unwilling to divulge any details about the content of the stories, Clifton said that they were “profoundly important” and of “significant interest” to the public.
The existence of the two stories was revealed in a June 30 Plain Dealer column Clifton wrote in response to the Judith Miller case. He wrote:
“If the state of the law compromises the reporter’s ability to protect a source’s identity, one of two things is likely to happen: The source won’t share the secret, or the newspaper won’t publish it.
“As I write this, two stories of profound importance languish in our hands. The public would be well served to know them, but both are based on documents leaked to us by people who would face deep trouble for having leaked them.
“Publishing the stories would almost certainly lead to a leak investigation and the ultimate choice: talk or go to jail.
“Because talking isn’t an option and jail is too high a price to pay, these two stories will go untold for now.”
See related articles:
Miller Sent to Jail, Cooper to Testify About Source
In Light of Miller/Cooper Case, a Federal Shield Law is Vital for Freedom of the Press