Reporters frequently maintain that they are just representatives
of the public, and that any special legal protections they claim
for themselves are for the good of society generally.  Courts
were for a time receptive to that argument. But a pileup of
recent cases and judicial decisions, including the Supreme
Court's refusal yesterday to hear the cases of two reporters
facing jail, suggest a new hostility, one fueled by skepticism
about the very value of the institutional press.  ''We're seeing
outright contempt for an independent press in a free society,''
said Jane Kirtley, who teaches media ethics and law at the
University of Minnesota. ''The fact that courts have no
appreciation for this is new, is troubling, and you cannot
overestimate the impact it will have over time.''  The courts'
reluctance to grant reporters special rights may reflect a
broader dissatisfaction by politicians and the public about the
role the news media have come to play. The press has
increasingly found itself a target of political