MEDIA . . . CNN CONVICTED IN NORIEGA TAPE FLAP

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A federal judge convicted cable network CNN of criminal contempt for airing taped phone conversations between jailed Panamanian ex-dictator Manual Noriega and his lawyers. During Noriega's trial on drug charges in 1990, CNN argued it had a First Amendment right to air the tapes -- which it did, 11 times -- since they had been leaked. But U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler who issued a gag order then, today found CNN's reasoning thin; the network faces a maximum $100,000 fine at a penalty hearing next month. BTW: Ironically, Hoeveler lifted the gag order a month after the tapes surfaced, ruling that airing them wouldn't impede Noriega's right to a fair trial.