JournalismPakistan.com | Published April 10, 2013
Join our WhatsApp channel
DENVER: A Fox News reporter was due back in a Colorado courtroom on Wednesday for a hearing on whether she should be compelled to reveal anonymous sources cited in a story about the July 2012 massacre of a dozen people in a suburban Denver movie theater.
New York-based journalist Jana Winter is fighting a subpoena calling for her to testify about her sources for an article that said the accused theater gunman, James Holmes, sent a notebook to a psychiatrist detailing his plans to commit mass murder.
Holmes' public defenders are demanding that prosecutors be sanctioned for leaks of the information to the media, arguing that whoever provided the information violated a gag order in the case and undermined their client's right to a fair trial.
Citing two law enforcement sources, the story appeared five days after prosecutors say Holmes opened fire inside an Aurora, Colorado, multiplex during a midnight screening of Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises", killing 12 moviegoers and wounding 58 others.
Holmes, 25, is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors announced last week they will seek the death penalty for the California native if he is convicted.
Winter said in an affidavit that if she was compelled to divulge the names of the sources, her reputation in the industry would be "irreparably tarnished".
"If I am forced to reveal the identities of persons whom I have promised to shield from public exposure, simply put, I will be unable to function effectively in my profession, and my career will be over," she wrote.
In a hearing on the issue last week, Winter's lawyer argued that the court had not exhausted all possible remedies to trace the origin of the leak, short of ordering Winter to testify, a requirement under Colorado's reporter shield law.
Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. agreed and ordered a police officer - who previously said under oath that he was not a source of the leak - to take the stand Wednesday and testify as to whether he told anyone about the notebook who may have then leaked its contents.
But Samour, who took over the case last week, also said in a written ruling issued this week that he would not force Winter to testify until and unless the notebook, which is under seal, became evidence in the case.
Representatives of the Colorado Press Association, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Colorado Broadcasters Association have filed affidavits with the court on Winter's behalf.
The president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Press Club, Angela Greiling Keane, issued a statement calling on the judge to drop the issue.
"If anonymous sources believe their identities can be dredged up in court, they will be less likely to disclose to the press information of vital public importance," she said. - Reuters
September 06, 2013:
August 15, 2013:
July 21, 2013:
July 15, 2013:
June 19, 2013:
April 22, 2013: Television sports announcer Al Michaels was arrested for driving under the influence in Santa Monica, California, after making an illegal U-turn. Michaels, a veteran NBC sportscaster, was cooperative with officers and scheduled to appear in court on June 26. NBC is aware of the situation.
March 11, 2013:
February 19, 2013:
June 11, 2025 Pakistan celebrated a narrow win over Bangladesh, but beneath the jubilation lies a deeper crisis—from sidelined veterans to a collapsing domestic structure—signaling an urgent need for cricket reform.
June 11, 2025 Journalists walked out of the post-budget press conference in Islamabad to protest the absence of a technical briefing and the government's dismissive behavior, calling it unacceptable and intolerable.
May 31, 2025 Dr. Nauman Niaz has issued a defamation notice to Shoaib Akhtar over derogatory remarks made during a recent broadcast, reigniting a longstanding media feud between the two prominent figures in Pakistan.
May 30, 2025 The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded the full repeal of PECA, citing its vague language, coercive powers, and threats to free speech and digital rights in Pakistan.
May 30, 2025 The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the murder of journalist Syed Mohammed Shah in Jacobabad, calling for urgent justice and improved safety for media professionals in Sindh.