The State of Judith Miller

Do you care about Judith Miller, the journalist who has been jailed for failing to comply with a Department of Justice investigation... I mean, uh, for maintaining her "journalistic integrity"?

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) -- New York Times reporter Judith Miller, imprisoned for refusing to name a confidential source, said she is allowed to read and write in jail but has been outside just twice in three weeks, according to press freedom advocates.

Miller spoke to a delegation of the Committee to Protect Journalists for about a half hour Thursday through a plastic partition, the CPJ reported on its Web site.

"There's no good purpose in keeping this dedicated, honorable, committed professional in jail," Paul Steiger, CPJ chairman and managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, said after the meeting. The delegation also included NBC's Tom Brokaw.

Wearing a dark green prison uniform with "PRISONER" written on the back, Miller praised the professionalism of the staff at Alexandria Detention Center, the CPJ reported. But she said she's been able to go outside just two times.

"Boo hoo, look at poor me, I'm obstructing an investigation, so they threw me in jail, and they don't let me go outside whenever I want. Oh, woe is me!"

Dedicated? Honorable? Committed? Professional? At the risk of giving anachronism a heart attack, none of these words should be used to describe anything associated with the New York Times. This woman is obstructing a legitimate investigation by the Justice Department, which means she's dedicated and committed to being a dishonorable criminal. Breaking the law does not make one a professional, and it's time that the mainstream media owned up to that and cleaned their act up.