Long Ears in Louisville

In The Front Page, the Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur classic about newspaper high jinks circa 1928, police reporters stop at nothing in pursuit of a new lead or an old adversary. Journalists have become more genteel since then--some say more timid--but once in a while the old ways show up. Two enterprising Louisville reporters, Howard Fineman, 25, of the morning Courier-Journal and Jerry Hicks, 27, of the afternoon Times, were arrested last May for eavesdropping on a closed meeting of the local Fraternal Order of Police.

There was not much doubt about their mission. Fineman was lying on the floor while Hicks had his ear to the crack in the door. They had a tape recorder --which was unused, they said--and written notes. A grand jury decided not to indict them for violating a federal anti-bugging law because the tape recorder had not been running, but the pair were charged with disorderly conduct.

Last week Police Court Judge Benjamin Shobe ordered another jury to acquit Fineman and Hicks. The prosecution, said Shobe, had failed to prove that they had disturbed the meeting. Still, the case prompted a bit of soul-searching.

Barry Bingham Jr., publisher and editor of the two sister papers, deplored his reporters' caper as "morally wrong," but defended their "vigorous enterprise and competitive spirit." The two newsmen were angry at having been arrested, but Fineman expressed some regret.

The press should defend the right of privacy, he said, and "if I at all jeopardized the credibility of newspapers in doing that, then I'm sorry about it."

Reporters always yearn to penetrate secret meetings when the subject is of compelling public interest. The subject was certainly that in this instance, and it was sure to make the reporters' ears grow long. The police session was called to discuss the electronic bugging of squad cars by police higher-ups to detect possible police misbehavior.

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