According to Reporters without Borders, so far in 2007, 53 journalists have been killed, 9 media assistants have been killed, 128 journalists have been imprisoned, 6 media assistants have been imprisoned, and 66 cyberdissidents have been imprisoned.
And of course it would be remiss of me not to mention Australian journalists Michael Harvey and Gerard McManus who were convicted of contempt of court in Victoria’s County Court last month.
Harvey and McManus were fined $7,000 for refusing to give up the source of a 2004 story they wrote for the Sun Herald newspaper which used leaked government documents to expose a federal government plan to clamp down on veteran entitlements.
There’s a transcript of the ABC radio story on the conviction here.
Even after the source they were protecting, Desmond Harvey, was charged with leaking the information, these two journalists refused to give up his name. (The treatment of Desmond Harvey is another reminder that Australia needs to strengthen its protection for whistleblowers).
While they escaped gaoltime, the fact that convictions were recorded against Harvey and McManus could impact on their ability to do their jobs – as having a conviction on your record can affect your ability to obtain visas to travel overseas.
And it serves to remind us that journalists need greater legal protection in Australia. Currently only NSW has laws protecting journalists and their sources.
Not forgetting the utterly ridiculous sight of the federal attorney-general trying to say that the Victorian government should pardon the two. After he had them convicted…
Yes, I was thinking of doing a followup post on that exact subject. I would like to see them “pardoned” but it’s more important to nix the law that convicted them.
And of course, we need a government which doesn’t use the legal system as a way to bully whistleblowers and journalists.