New York SPJ Chapter 'Dismayed' by Miller's First Amendment Award

By: E&P Staff After a vote by its governing board on Tuesday, The Deadline Club chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in the New York City area sent an open letter today to SPJ's executive committee saying it is "dismayed at the Society's decision to grant a First Amendment Award to Judith Miller of The New York Times at its national convention on Oct. 18." It noted that many "serious questions remain unanswered about Ms. Miller's actions surrounding the Central Intelligence Agency leak case, and as such, the Society acted in haste in honoring her."

The lengthy letter added: "We give Ms. Miller the benefit of the doubt that her initial refusal to testify in the case, and her willingness to go to jail for 85 days to protect the identity of her confidential sources, was inspired by the best motives. ? Our opposition to her First Amendment Award focuses only on her actions surrounding the CIA leak case. Ms. Miller has yet to adequately explain the contradictions, inconsistencies and missing pieces to her story."

The letter outlined five essential complaints in detail, citing her "inconsistent testimony"; how she treated Lewis Libby as a source and her agreement to possibly refer to him with the misleading identity of "former Hill staffer"; questions about her security status within the Pentagon; and the dangers that her case "may end up hurting rather than helping journalists."

The letter concludes: "In light of the above concerns, we want to be on record that we do not stand with the executive committee of SPJ on this year's First Amendment Award. The committee clearly saw an opportunity to share in the limelight with Ms. Miller to promote SPJ's activities and draw attention to its national convention. But to us, this was the wrong cause to attach the Society's name to.

"We hope the committee will learn from this episode and avoid rushing to judgment in the future. The reputation and credibility of this vital organization depends on it."