USA / Americas

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Read CPJ’s report on the Biden administration and the press.

  

In a year of war, murder still top cause of work deaths for journalists

New York, January 3, 2005—Even in a year of combat casualties brought on by war, murder remained the leading cause of work-related deaths among journalists worldwide in 2004, an analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. Thirty-six of the 56 journalists who died in the line of duty in 2004 were murdered, continuing…

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Journalists in prison, 2004

Around the world, 122 journalists were in prison at the end of 2004 for practicing their profession, 16 fewer than the year before. International advocacy campaigns, including those waged by the Committee to Protect Journalists, helped win the early release of a number of imprisoned journalists, notably six independent writers and reporters in Cuba.

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Journalist sentenced to six months of house arrest

New York, December 9, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the sentence imposed today on local Rhode Island television reporter Jim Taricani, who was ordered to spend the next six months under house arrest for refusing to reveal who leaked him an FBI surveillance tape. Taricani, an investigative reporter with the NBC-owned affiliate station, WJAR-TV,…

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Journalist convicted of criminal contempt

EDITOR’S NOTE: Corrected version, 11/19/04, below New York, November 18, 2004—A federal court today convicted Jim Taricani, a reporter at WJAR-TV, an NBC Universal–owned station in Providence, Rhode Island, of criminal contempt for refusing to reveal a confidential source. Sentencing is set for December 9, and Taricani faces up to six months behind bars, according…

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Klebnikov family calls for journalists worldwide to probe editor’s unsolved murder

Washington, November 18, 2004—The family of slain journalist Paul Klebnikov is calling on reporters worldwide to launch an investigation into the unsolved murder of the Forbes Russia editor, gunned down in a contract-style slaying outside his Moscow office in July, the journalist’s brother said today. “In this awful tragedy there are seeds of hope. We’ve…

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JUDGE ORDERS SECOND JOURNALIST TO JAIL

Washington, October 13, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that a U.S. federal judge has ordered a second journalist to jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity. Judge Thomas F. Hogan today ordered Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper to jail until he agrees to…

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Judge holds Times reporter in contempt in CIA case

New York, October 7, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that a federal judge has held another reporter in contempt for not disclosing confidential sources to prosecutors investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity. Judge Thomas F. Hogan today ordered New York Times reporter Judith Miller jailed until she agrees to testify…

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Contempt ruling dismissed; source waives confidentiality

Washington, D.C., August 24, 2004—A contempt of court ruling against a Time magazine correspondent was dismissed yesterday after he agreed to testify in the CIA leak case. Matthew Cooper agreed to give a deposition after one of his sources, vice presidential aide I. Lewis Libby, waived confidentiality. Cooper was held in contempt this month by…

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Contempt ruling sends disturbing message worldwide

New York, August 18, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by a federal judge’s ruling today holding five reporters in contempt for refusing to identify sources for stories about Wen Ho Lee, the nuclear scientist once suspected of spying. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson imposed daily fines of $500 against H. Josef…

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CPJ deeply disturbed by contempt ruling in CIA leak case

New York, August 11, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is very concerned by a U.S. federal judge’s ruling to hold a journalist in contempt of court for refusing to testify before the grand jury probing the 2003 leak of a CIA operative’s name. Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan of U.S. District Court in Washington,…

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