PressEthic

Two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, were sentenced to 18 months in jail for failing to reveal their source in the BALCO scandal, while two superstar players -- Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi -- invovled in illegal steroid use continue to play in Major League Baseball.

According to an article by Joe Strupp in Editor and Publisher,

Fainaru-Wada and Williams gained national fame in 2004 for revealing grand jury testimony from the federal investigation into the BALCO steroid scandal, which indicated baseball players Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds admitted using steroids. The reporting later resulted in a book, "Game of Shadows," released earlier this year.

But it also drew attention from federal investigators, resulting in a second grand jury to determine who leaked the testimony. That grand jury issued subpoenas for Fainaru-Wada and Williams to testify, which they have defied. The pair were found in contempt and, on Thursday, sentenced to 18 months in prison. The sentence has been stayed pending an appeal that is expected to take several months.

In the piece, Fainaru-Wada vehemently defends not revealing the source: "We made a promise and we have to keep that promise. It is not even a choice. I don't want to spend a minute in jail, but that is not part of the consideration." With the hard decision, he joins a growing list of reporters in the past few years that are willing to serve jail time rather than name an anonymous informant.

Fainaru-Wada said in the article he is hopeful to not go to jail, adding that anonymous sources are essential to the business of journalism.

Judge Jeffery Wright wasn’t impressed with their ethical stance, and said, "Nobody is above the law," quoting an ESPN column.

Irony of ironies, as the two reporters get ready to serve time, Barry Bonds continues his push to break Hank Aaron’s homerun record and Jason Giambi is preparing for the postseason with Yankees.