He [Wolf] may not have the clout or journalism credentials of some of the other government targets, but Josh Wolf is no less entitled to First Amendment protection. Each day he remains incarcerated represents another small dent in this nation's basic freedoms.
San Francisco Chronicle Editorial 8/06
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When journalists like Josh Wolf are put in jail, journalism and the public's right to know suffer. An independent press needs a Federal shield law to protect journalists like Josh.
—Judith Miller

I am outraged by the recent jailing of blogger and journalist Josh Wolf by our Federal government, whose attempt to obtain his footage of a 2005 protest is a clear transgression of California's Shield Law, which was intended to protect journalists from being held in contempt of court for refusing to disclose unpublished information. Despite these protections, and those clearly guaranteed by our first and fifth amendments, Mr. Wolf has been detained without bail in Federal prison in Dublin. This is a direct assault on the integrity of our free press by an overly aggressive administration, and I am deeply concerned that these actions could have a dramatic and chilling effect on our country's journalistic integrity. We must stand against the circumvention of our constitutional rights, and support those brave individuals who defend our right to a press that is free from government obstruction.
—Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco)

At a time when journalists are under increasing pressure to comply with government subpoenas- and in the absence of a federal shield law - these three have chosen to risk jail rather than reveal confidential sources or turn over to government unpublished portions of their work. The Chronicle reporters have refused to name the source of the grand jury testimony that informed their articles on steroid use among athletes. Wolf, who already has spent time in jail, has refused to turn over unpublished footage of an anarchist demonstration in San Francisco. While their case are dissimilar, the underlying principles are not.
—Society for Professional Journalists

The Wolf case has absolutely no bearing on national security, the argument used in other tussles between federal courts and journalists who refused to name their sources or surrender their files. Confirmed contempt of court orders against Wolf would mean that the independence of the press - which is based among other things on the right to professional secrecy - is more than ever in danger in the United States. Keeping Josh Wolf in jail would be tantamount to denying the role that the media is supposed to play in a democracy, one of questioning and criticizing. Congress must quickly debate and approve a federal shield law that would uphold the right of journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources.
—Reporters Without Borders