Jailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller has been eating prison food while her husband cavorted on a luxury cruise (when they bought the tickets they didn't realize she'd be doing time and unable to go). That had to have been a bummer. But it gets worse. Editor and Publisherreports that the American Society of Journalists and Authors ("ASJA") voted unanimously not to endorse its earlier decision to give Miller a Conscience in Media award for going to jail to protect her sources in the Plamegate scandal.
The group's First Amendment committee had narrowly voted to give Miller the prize for her dedication to protecting sources, but the full board has now voted to not accept that decision, based on its opinion that her entire career, and even her current actions in the Plame/CIA leak case, cast doubt on her credentials for this award.
The group's president, Jack El-Hai, posted an explanation on an internal list-serve yesterday, noting the opposition from the rank and file, and also mentioning two other reasons for the unanimous vote:
* "A feeling that Miller's career, taken as a whole, did not make her the best candidate for the award."
* "Divided opinions on the board over whether her recent actions merit the award."
Rumors are swirling in Washington that the reason that Miller won't name her source in Plamegate is because she doesn't have one: that she is actually the person that told Karl Rove that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent. But that's just a rumor. Unless Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald gets an indictment from the Grand Jury and then a criminal trial, we may never know who Miller's source was. In any event, she's not having a great summer, that's for sure.
