Journalist Josh Wolf Still Imprisoned
Josh Wolf, an independant journalist and video blogger is still in a federal prison after over 170 days. His crime: refusing to single out and identify people protesting the G8 summit on July 8, 2005 and turn over his video footage of the protest.
There's a very informative interview with him on Democracy Now. Josh speaks well, thoughtfully and provocatively.
Part of what is so terrifying about this is that he should be protected by the Californal Shield Law, but there is some dodgy logic about State Police cars being purchased with federal funds being used to try him in a federal court, outside the jurisdiction of California. Even then, the federal prosecutors are denying that he's a journalist. As Josh said:
I think it's a very scary idea that the US Attorney, the Justice Department, the government prosecution feels that they can determine who is and isn't a journalist. I think that's the first step towards state-sanctioned journalism, and I think it also is indicative of a world almost a 1984 Orwellian world that I don't think we want to live in. As far as whether or not Ialist in my imagination, the New York Times has said I'm a journalist. The Society of Professional Journalists has awarded me an award as a journalist. Countless media outlets have said I'm a journalist. So if it's my imagination and other journalists' imagination, then who decides what is and isn't a journalist? The government?
