More Bad News for Press as R.I. TV Reporter is Sentenced

By: Joe Strupp Jim Taricani, an investigative reporter for a television station in Providence, R.I., was sentenced late this afternoon to six months of home confinement for refusing to reveal the source who provided him with an FBI videotape, according to the Website of WJAR-TV, where he works.

Taricani is one of several print and broadcast journalists who have been subpoenaed in recent months by investigators seeking the identity of reporters' sources.

But Taricani is the first to face the prospect of imminent jail time. He was found guilty of criminal contempt by a judge last month for refusing to reveal who provided him with a videotape purportedly showing a city official taking a bribe. The tape, broadcast three years ago, was used in the trial of former Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci

Taricani is a broadcast reporter, but his case has obvious impact on all journalists, especially at a time when demand for source identities has reached the unprecedented levels.

"It is very disappointing that a journalist can be punished for doing his job," Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said upon hearing of the sentencing. "It is a very sad day for the First Amendment."

Taricani's sentencing hearing occurred just a day after two other reporters, Judith Miller of The New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, appeared in federal court to appeal their contempt-of-court rulings. Both were found in contempt several weeks ago for refusing to disclose who leaked the identity of CIA Agent Valeria Plame to them.

Several journalists have been targeted by federal prosecutors in the Plame investigation. Her identity was first revealed by columnist Robert Novak in 2003. No reporters have been jailed in that case.

Other similar cases involving recent demands for journalists' sources include:

? The Wen Ho Lee case, in which a former Los Alamos scientist is suing the federal government for disclosing private information about him during an espionage investigation. Six reporters were found in contempt in August for failing to reveal sources and fined $500 per day. The fines were stayed pending an appeal expected to be heard in January.

? The BALCO case, in which the federal government is investigating the illegal distribution of steroids by a San Francisco-area company. Five reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News, who have disclosed elements of secret grand jury testimony, have been asked for sourcing information but not yet subpoenaed.