NEWARK — The New Jersey chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded Parsippany Focus and it’s publisher Frank Cahill the prestigious ‘Courage Under Fire’ award on Saturday, June 27 at the NJ Historical Society in downtown Newark.
Cahill successfully fought a subpoena issued by Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor James Barberio and Township Attorney John Inglesino to reveal his sources for a then unpublished article involving Former Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Captain James Carifi.
The Courts found that Parsippany Focus, an online news site, was awarded the same “shield law” protection afforded to print media (see NJ.com). In his ruling, Judge Honigfeld stated that “newspersons are allowed to protect the confidentiality of sources and news or information gathered during the course of their work.” He went on to say that Frank Cahill “is a credentialed newsperson,” and “the record demonstrates that the Focus is dedicated to disseminating information regarding the political activities of the Township.”
In light of these facts, Judge Honigfeld concluded, “the Court is satisfied that Cahill has overcome the threshold issue of whether he and the Focus are parties that may be entitled to the protection of the Shield Law.”
After the event Cahill told reporters “I don’t need to tell you that the wherewithal to fight the almost unlimited funds of a large municipality are daunting. Even though I knew I was on firm ground fighting the subpoena to reveal my sources, I was confident I would prevail. The Township of Parsippany’s mayor and it’s township attorney, John Inglesino sought to bleed me dry in the courts with legal fees, and they nearly succeeded. The absurd argument they made was that Parsippany Focus was not a newspaper, and thus I was not afforded certain protections.”
In addition to Cahill, Jana Winter of Fox News and Andrew Flinchbuagh, a reporter for The Lacey Reporter who underwent arrest, rather than turn over his camera to police without a warrant earned the coveted award. All three ultimately won their cases.
