THE REARDON RUCKUS

Two lawyers who are legal counsel to the American Society of Newspaper Editors explore the Reardon Report, an early attempt to balance freed om of the press and the right to a fair trial: ''Despite short-term fa ilure, the report set off 30 years of dialogue between the press and t he bar. If the two parties have rarely been in complete agreement abou t what to do, at least their commitment to keep talking has saved jour nalists and the courts from destructive estrangement.''