Jana Winter: Fox News Reporter Faces Jail Times For Refusing to Reveal Sources

The Daily Caller has rightly called foul on liberal media bias over a lack of reporting in the breaking story that Fox News journalist Jana Winter faces potential jail time for risks associated with doing her job. In an affidavit, Winter refused to expose her sources for an article she wrote about Aurora, Colo., shooter James Holmes and his pending murder trial.

Whether or not she will actually receive jail time or whether she should have exposed her sources is beside the point. Fox News reports, “The identities of Ms. Winter’s sources are hardly ‘directly relevant’ to James Holmes’ guilt or innocence, or to the proper punishment.”

The fact is that Jana Winter is facing potential jail time for doing her job well, and the liberal media refuses to recognize a job well done. The press has a duty to protect each other, which means at the very least, rallying behind the protection of reporter’s privilege (a reporter’s right to immunity from discovery in litigation) regardless of political affiliation.

A story of this magnitude is worthy of everyone's attention, but the liberal media’s silence on this not only fails to show a commitment to protecting journalistic integrity, but also demonstrates an unwillingness to acknowledge successful reporting from their archenemy, Fox News.

A brief search of Peabody award winners reveals that no Fox News reporter has won a Peabody since Fox News channel was launched in 1996. The Daily Kos reports since 1997, PBS has received 50 awards in education and entertainment, 19 for news and public service programming like The News Hour and Frontline. Local public television stations shine in reporting breaking news stories, like WGBH-TV in Boston with 33, and WNET-TV in New York with 17. For the major news providers, it is CBS with 18, BBC 14, ABC 42, NPR 13, CNN 8, and NBC 7.

In addition, Fox News channel comes up short in other lesser known awards. The Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards are the equivalent to Pulitzer prizes in broadcast journalism. PBS has 23, NPR 17,  CBS 14, ABC 13, NBC 8, and CNN 6.  MSNBC and Court TV have two, and National Geographic, CNBC, and Current TV all have one.  Even the New York Times received one for an online series in 2012. Fox News, zero. 

Now, this may be a compelling body of proof against Fox News, but even small town broadcasters have received awards. The left-wing disdain for Fox News is no secret. 

Denver-based CNN journalist Jim Spellman called it what it is, anti-Fox News bias in the press. He tweeted his own personal observation on Sunday, “Observation: If @janawinter, who may go to jail to protect sources, worked for @nytimes instead of @FoxNews the case would be huge.”

Thus far, the Huffington Post, Spellman, and a small minority of liberal news outlets have joined the conversation. Newspaper giants like the New York Times remain radio silent.