Susan Beck of The American Lawyer says that the two Chronicle reporters facing possible prison time for not revealing their sources in the Balco baseball steroids case might consider getting their own counsel rather than relying on Hearst Corp. attorneys, led by Eve Burton. “… [W]hen battling the government, a news organization’s interests may differ from those of its reporters,” Beck writes. “In the last major blowup over reporters’ refusal to name sources before a federal grand jury-involving reporting by Judith Miller of The New York Times, and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine about Valerie Plame of the Central Intelligence Agency-the reporters learned they were better served by hiring their own lawyers and not relying on those representing their publications.” (Sept. 21 file photo by Darryl Bush of the Chronicle.)