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Bloggers, journalists and free-speech advocates in the US hope to press the state of California to free videoblogger Josh Wolf. Wolf was imprisoned last week for failing to comply with a federal grand jury's subpoena requiring him to turn over unpublished footage of a protest he taped in July, 2005.
Wolf's case comes on the heels of a successful effort by bloggers around the world to press for the release of writer-filmaker Hao Wu, who was held by the Chinese government without charges for five months.
It is believed that Wu was jailed because Chinese government officials wanted access to his footage and notes for a documentary about China's underground Christian churches. In an article for New American Media, writer Eugenia Chen
noted that more than 1,000 websites carried Wu's story and picture within weeks of his Feb. 22 arrest, calling his July 11 release, "a testament to the power of the blogging community to generate information and gather support."
Wolf's defenders argue that he is covered by California's shield law, and that the government's action in this case is a violation of the First Amendment. As the San Francisco Chronicle put it:
"[T]he really ominous element of the government's argument is the notion that a journalist can be compelled to turn over raw material -- be it notes or video outtakes -- at the government's whim. If that standard can apply to Josh Wolf, it can be used against CNN, NBC, Fox News or any independent journalist who is conducting an investigation or trying to record a chaotic event. Journalists are not agents of the government.
"This case comes at a particularly precarious time for the First Amendment. The Bush administration has become increasingly aggressive about pursuing and prosecuting leaks -- including The Chronicle's publication of grand jury testimony about an investigation into performance-enhancing drugs at the highest level of sports. On Tuesday, a federal court cleared the way for prosecutors to inspect the telephone records of two New York Times reporters in an effort to identify their confidential sources."
Videoblogger Gena Haskins put it more succinctly:
"If you are an American, you know that this is wrong. If you are not an American I'm telling you this is not our way. You can't force someone to give up his property, especially under these conditions."
You can view Wolf's videoblog appeal. His supporters have also created a wiki with updated information about his case. His parents are maintaining Wolf's blog for now.
First Amendment rights for all at stake here...
Lisa Stone August 7, 2006 - 1:07pm
Kim, thank you for this fantastic post. According to Reporters Without Borders, right now 130 journalists and 57 "cyber-dissidents" are imprisoned.
It's frankly amazing that Josh Wolf is one of them. So amazing, in fact, that traditional journalism associations have put the (tired) question, "are bloggers journalists?" behind them and begun work to defend Wolf's rights as an independent journalist. The AP's Juliana Barbassa reported yesterday:
"
Let's hope organizations with deep pockets and important connections, such as The New York Times and Journalism.org, where I found this story, are next in line to support Mr. Wolf and, de facto, all of us. (Although he's not on RSF's list yet, they've issued this statement demanding his release).
To take effective action, it appears we have at least three steps to consider:
1. Equip anyone who wants to report news (on a blog, in a paper, whatever) with a strong defense. In our current legal system, that first line of defense is a federal shield law, as I have posted before. California has one but it isn't protecting Wolf in this case and federal agents are able to do an end-run around it in this case, as Reporters Without Borders reports:
2. Evangelize the First Amendment and its value across American society -- especially since many Americans publish blogs for people living abroad in countries such as China and Egypt, who cannot safely do so. We could all use a shield law -- not just working journalists. The risk of stopping with shield laws is that they create a sense of a special class of citizen -- a club of people who are trained to and encouraged to use all their First Amendment rights, while writing, observing and thinking by the rest of us can feel (or worse ACT) sidelined. Chris Boese puts it beautifully:
3. Learn what your legal rights are as bloggers right now. Here's a starter list of links: Check out Legal tips for bloggers: Audio advice from experts.
Now...I'm off to the wiki Kim linked to help Josh Wolf and his family. Hope to see you there...
Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette