US PRESS - gagged by Obama administration's 'de facto' Official Secrets Act

NYT reporter: Obama administration ‘the greatest enemy of press freedom’ in a generation

5:12 PM 03/24/2014 

 

New York Times reporter James Risen

FULL article - Daily Caller - here.

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COMMENT


Reporter James Risen (New York Times) is:

 "currently fighting a fierce court battle with the federal government over his protection of a confidential source" [and has] "warned that press freedom is under serious attack in today’s America."

As for reporting on 'national security intelligence',  by virtue of the Obama administration 'punishing' those that go against 'good' reporting form (as determined by the Whitehouse), and selecting reporters that play the game, the government interferes with the role of the press in a democratic society.

As a result, the government calls the shots and the complaint is that, there's a de facto Official Secrets Act.

Jeffrey Toobin (writer, The New Yorker):

 “For better or worse, it has been clear there is no journalistic privilege under the First Amendment.”

The government "lawyer for the national intelligence community" doesn't come off as pleasant sounding.

Lawyer's comparing drunk driving to national security reporting:

“Not every drunk driver causes a fatal accident,” he explained, “but we ban drunk driving because it increases the risk of accidents. In the same way, we classify information because of the risk of harm, even if no harm actually can be shown in the end from any particular disclosure.”

Right, and Big Brother's going to make that decision?

The government is supposed to serve the people; not rule the people.

Someone needs to work on an accepted model of 'national security' versus government accountability.

For some weird reason, the 'risk of accidents' and reporting association made me think of Michael Hastings.
Anyway, you can read the full article on the link supplied.