18 months for doing a fine job

If your boss gives you a job to do and you do such a good job you win industry awards and the President himself congratulates you on a fine job what does that earn you? 18 months in prison apparently. The two journalists were sentenced to serve jail time for not revealing their sources about who leaked the Grand Jury testimony yesterday pending appeal in what was a distinctly sad day for all involved.

Remember they themselves have not broken any law, whoever leaked them the testimony has but because they had given them a promise of anonymity they felt (correctly) that they couldn't go back on that even if they themselves spent time in jail for doing so. Any journalist would go to jail to protect their sources, it is a cornerstone of the profession and when you see stories such as these you can't help but feel disheartened.

It is a sad, sad day.

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