Judge says journalists in BALCO case must be jailed

SAN FRANCISCO, Sep 22 (Reuters) A federal judge said the two journalists who refused to reveal their source in the BALCO steroids scandal should go to prison, but he would not implement his decision pending an appeal of the case.

San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams have declined to name the source who allowed them access to transcripts of grand jury testimony from top athletes involved in the long-running doping probe, including San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds.

''The only appropriate sentence is to incarcerate these two individuals,'' said U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White.

Last month, White had ruled they must disclose the source.

Unauthorized distribution of grand jury transcripts is a crime.

Reuters AY DB1018