ASNE President Slams BALCO Ruling

By: E&P Staff David A. Zeeck, the president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, has publicly denounced a recent federal ruling ordering two San Francisco Chronicle reporters to reveal their sources to a grand jury.

Zeeck, who is the executive editor of The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., said in an ASNE release today that the work of Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams was ?an exemplar of public service.?

?It is journalism that brought to light problems in major league baseball that prompted adoption of new rules to curb the use of performance enhancing drugs.

?If reporters risk jail time every time sensitive or embarrassing information gets out, there will be a chilling effect on the news gathering process. This ruling should be overturned on appeal.?


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