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Chronicle “BALCO” Reporters Do Not Merit Public Support
Chronicle reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada face jail time for refusing to disclose who leaked them confidential testimony from grand jury proceedings on the “BALCO” steroids scandal. The publication of this leaked testimony got the reporters a book deal, national media attention, frequent front-page Chronicle headlines, and the chance to do what so many of their colleagues have wanted to do for years, which was to damage the credibility of Barry Bonds’ baseball achievements. Publishing illegally leaked testimony hardly constitutes “investigative reporting,” nor is it clear that what the reporters did was in the “public interest.” To the contrary, Williams and Fainaru-Wada did a public disservice by elevating non-credible, unverified testimony in a secret hearing to the status of “TRUTH,” and produced stories without telling readers how grand jury hearing lack any of the procedural or judicial safeguards normally associated with our system of justice.
Chronicle reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada face jail time for refusing to disclose who leaked them confidential testimony from grand jury proceedings on the “BALCO” steroids scandal. The publication of this leaked testimony got the reporters a book deal, national media attention, frequent front-page Chronicle headlines, and the chance to do what so many of their colleagues have wanted to do for years, which was to damage the credibility of Barry Bonds’ baseball achievements. Publishing illegally leaked testimony hardly constitutes “investigative reporting,” nor is it clear that what the reporters did was in the “public interest.” To the contrary, Williams and Fainaru-Wada did a public disservice by elevating non-credible, unverified testimony in a secret hearing to the status of “TRUTH,” and produced stories without telling readers how grand jury hearing lack any of the procedural or judicial safeguards normally associated with our system of justice.
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