Video blogger freed

After serving seven months in prison for refusing to turn over video he shot July 8, 2005 of a protest in San Francisco's Mission District against the Group-of-Eight summit. During the protest a San Francisco police car was set on fire injuring a police officer.

As part of a deal cut with the prosecutors Wolf posted the footage unedited on his blog The Revolution Will Be Televised.


Wolf also swore in a new court document that he neither took part or could identify those responsible for the car's damage or the officer's injury. In exchange for this document prosecutors promised that they would not compel Wolf to testify before a grand jury.

The president of the Society of Professional Journalists who organized supporters of Wolf and the President of the national press club had "mixed feelings" about the plea deal. While they believe that it is good strategy to make the video available to the public rather then just to prosecutors
they both think that it is similar to a reporter being forced to give up all their notes n a particular story.

While it is good that this footage is out in the public the government should not be able to force Journalists to turn over everything they have for a court case because the lets more information out to the public before it has been fact check and edited. This also create a situation where journalists are force to unwillingly act as an arm of law enforcement. If law enforcement is able to use the footage of Journalists to prosecutor offenders then they are unwilling acting as a arm of the law catching criminals in the act. This seriously challenges the ability of journalists to work with the public to criticize the government. How can journalists take on the government if law enforcement can take their foootage and use it against their sources?

I am happy Josh Wolf is out but I am afraid that it is only a matter of time before another Journalists is arrested for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Hey but look at the broight side at least we are not making citizen journalism illegal like France.