Matthew Keys Sentenced to 2 Years in LA Times-Anonymous Hacking Case
The former Reuters journalist was found guilty last year and had faced up to 25 years in prison
Debbie Emery | April 13, 2016 @ 9:17 PM
Last Updated: April 14, 2016 @ 9:33 AM
Matthew Keys was sentenced to two years in prison over the Los Angeles Times-Anonymous hacking case on Wednesday.
The former Reuters journalist was found guilty last October on three felony counts of computer fraud in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, and had faced up to 25 years behind bars.
Following his sentence, Keys will be on supervised release. He is set to surrender on June 15.
Keys, now 29, was a deputy social media editor at Thomson Reuters at the time of the 2010 hacking.
He was indicted in 2013 after allegedly giving hacktivist group Anonymous vital login data for systems at his then-employer, Tribune Company. The information allowed the group to gain access to the web publishing platform of the Times, a Tribune publication.
The hack, which occurred over two days in December 2010, resulted in the altering of an L.A. Times post on House Democrats to read in part, “Pressure Builds in House to Elect CHIPPY 1337.”
After leaving Tribune, Keys held a similar social-media job at Reuters; he was fired from that job after his indictment.
In a essay posted on Medium earlier on Wednesday, Keys continued to profess his innocence.
“I am innocent, and I did not ask for this fight. Nonetheless, I hope that our combined efforts help bring about positive change to rules and regulations that govern our online conduct,” he wrote. “As I’ve previously wrote about, nobody should face terrorism charges for passing a Netflix username and password. But under today’s law, prosecutors can use their discretion to bring those exact charges against people — including journalists –whenever they see fit.
“Prosecutors did so in this case. Until the law catches up with the times, there’s no doubt that prosecutors will do it again,” Keys predicted.
10 Journalism Movies To Share the 'Spotlight' With
"All The President's Men" is the film that many critics have compared "Spotlight" to, and there's little wonder why. "Spotlight" follows the path blazed by the Robert Redford/Dustin Hoffman classic recounting the Watergate scandal, showing the investigative reporting process in great detail and exposing the roadblocks that reporters face when trying to uncover the truth.
It's a shame the "Star Wars" prequels made many moviegoers cringe at the thought of Hayden Christensen, because his performance in "Shattered Glass" is a must-see. Christensen plays Stephen Glass, a reporter from The New Republic who was fired in 1998 for fabricating many of his stories.
Forty years after its release, "Network" remains one of the most potent satires not just in cinema, but in any medium. Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning script bitterly attacks broadcast media for sacrificing the public good for salacious stories that will get ratings. Today, as the media chases after Donald Trump for more and more scandalous quotes, "Network" has proven to be prophetic. Again.
In a similar vein as "Network," but a generation earlier, there's Billy Wilder's "Ace In the Hole," which stars Kirk Douglas as an opportunistic, down-on-his-luck reporter who discovers a man trapped in a collapsed cave in New Mexico and uses it as an opportunity to regain his former big-city glory. Even back in 1951, sensationalism in the press was being examined in film.
Back on the more idealistic side of journalism movies, there's George Clooney's "Good Night And Good Luck," which features David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow as he takes on Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. The concluding speech cautions about the potential and dangers of television that "Network" looks at more cynically.
From Australia, "Balibo" retells the true story of Roger East, a reporter who traveled to East Timor to investigate the disappearance of five other journalists just before the invasion of Indonesia in 1975. The film features "Ex Machina" star Oscar Isaac as Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta before his rise to the East Timor presidency.
The wittiest take on arts journalism is Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous," a dramedy about an aspiring music journalist covering a rising band for Rolling Stone. The film is based on Crowe's own experiences at Rolling Stone, and features Philip Seymour Hoffman as legendary rock writer Lester Bangs in one of the most famous "job warning" speeches ever.
The words of Hunter S. Thompson, patron saint of gonzo journalism, are captured brilliantly by Johnny Depp in "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas." Thompson's writing crackles with life, and Depp's narration sets it ablaze. Listen to his reading of the famous "Wave Speech," which brings forth Thompson's ability to find beauty even in the ugly side of America that he always reveled in.
"Broadcast News," James L.Brooks' rom-com drama, has been praised for its insightful look at the day-to-day life inside a broadcast newsroom. Featuring a love triangle between an unseasoned anchorman (William Hurt), a high-strung producer (Holly Hunter) and an ambitious reporter (Albert Brooks), this is a much lighter alternative to "The Newsroom."
"Citizen Kane." Come on, does this need further introduction? Orson Welles' masterpiece is one of the heavyweight contenders in the Greatest Movie Ever debate, and a sobering look at the slow death of journalistic idealism at the hands of power and greed. Some 75 years later, that loss of faith in journalistic ideals seems to be more widespread in society. Maybe that's why "Spotlight" won Best Picture: it reminds us that truth-seekers aren't as extinct today as we sometimes may think.
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From odes to investigative reporting to biting satires of mass media, journalism and the movies have a long history together
"All The President's Men" is the film that many critics have compared "Spotlight" to, and there's little wonder why. "Spotlight" follows the path blazed by the Robert Redford/Dustin Hoffman classic recounting the Watergate scandal, showing the investigative reporting process in great detail and exposing the roadblocks that reporters face when trying to uncover the truth.
