Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

[illiteratepresident]

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/200...deos02_ph3.jpg
Josh Wolf was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes. National Lawyers Guild Photo



Cameraman jailed for not yielding tape
JOURNALISTS' RIGHTS? 'Every person ... has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,' judge tells S.F. freelancer
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

A freelance journalist and political activist was sent to federal prison Tuesday and could be held for nearly a year after refusing a grand jury's demand that he turn over unaired videotapes of a 2005 anarchist demonstration in which protesters clashed with San Francisco police.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup found Josh Wolf, 24, of San Francisco in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena that the federal grand jury issued Feb. 1...

"Every person, from the president of the United States down to you and me, has to give information to the grand jury if the grand jury wants it,'' the judge said at the end of a 2 1/2-hour hearing in federal court in San Francisco.

Wolf and his lawyers contend that federal authorities are less interested in the alleged arson than they are in disrupting the legitimate political activities of anarchist groups. Forcing Wolf to turn over his videotapes is a way of keeping the media from reporting dissidents' point of view, they said.

Unless a journalist's right to withhold unpublished and unaired material is recognized, "we're not going to have Mr. Wolf or any reporters covering protests," attorney Jose Luis Fuentes told Alsup. "Confidential sources are not going to come forward. They (journalists) are going to be viewed as investigative arms of the government."

...

Wolf describes himself on his Web site as an activist and anarchist. The videos sought by the grand jury were of a demonstration that Wolf shot on July 8, 2005, in the Mission District, in which a few hundred people marched in protest against the Group of Eight economic summit that was taking place in Scotland.

...

Wolf posted some of the videos on his Web site and sold that footage to local television stations. None of the footage showed any crimes being committed. It was posted Tuesday evening at www.joshwolf.net/grandjury.

Federal prosecutors demanded the rest of the tapes, saying they might contain evidence of attempted arson of a police cruiser -- which Wolf says they do not. Trying to burn a police car would constitute a federal crime, federal authorities argued, because the Police Department receives money from Washington.

Citing the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, federal prosecutors have never explained their interest in the possible burning of a police car, which local authorities typically would investigate. No local charges have ever been filed in connection with that incident.

... Noting that the events Wolf photographed all took place in public, Alsup asked, "Where does Mr. Wolf get to decide what will or will not be made public, when he never made a promise to anyone?"

Alsup was a Supreme Court law clerk when the court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment does not shield reporters from having to testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that some federal courts have since recognized certain legal protections for journalists. But he said none of those cases involved grand jury investigations, in which the courts have repeatedly upheld demands for testimony...

California, like most states, has a shield law...There is no federal shield law, however, and the state law does not apply in federal court.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGNSK9MJ71.DTL

Freelancer doesn't want mainstream job
- Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Josh Wolf has one thing in common with Judith Miller, the last journalist jailed by a federal judge: Both of them refused to disclose confidential material sought by grand juries.

Apart from that, Wolf, the 24-year-old San Francisco freelance journalist who was held in contempt of court Tuesday, comes from a different world from Miller, the former New York Times national security reporter who spent 85 days in federal prison last year until she agreed to reveal who told her a Bush administration critic's wife was a CIA agent.

"I'm not (interested) in making it in the world of mainstream media so much as making it as an independent journalist,'' Wolf said in an interview last month. "I see myself continuing to report on the world around me. ... I have reservations in the way journalism is approached.''

While his Web site includes personal videos, Wolf said, "a good portion of my work focuses on political dissent. That's what I've established as a beat.''

Before his confrontation Tuesday with U.S. District Judge William Alsup, Wolf spent part of his time as a self-employed video journalist, displaying his footage on a Web site and distributing some of it to other online sites and documentary-makers. He said he started shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, first on local public-access cable and then as a blogger.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...2/WOLFSIDE.TMP

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