This encompasses all U.S. jurisdictions, including state and local courts. If the imprisonment or fines are later overturned, they still count. However, if a higher court issues a stay before the enforcement of penalties, it does not count. Excluded are politically motivated punishments unrelated to the journalist's work. The scope includes actions related to the gathering, publishing, or reporting of news.

Here's a list of incidents that would count, but note that the reason for the jail time or fine does not have to be failing to disclose sources: https://www.rcfp.org/jailed-fined-journalists-confidential-sources/