A Failure of the Press

[fjc]

By William J. Bennett and Alan M. Dershowitz
Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page A19

There was a time when the press was the strongest guardian of free expression in this democracy. Stories and celebrations of intrepid and courageous reporters are many within the press corps. Cases such as New York Times v. Sullivan in the 1960s were litigated so that the press could report on and examine public officials with the unfettered reporting a free people deserved. In the 1970s the Pentagon Papers case reaffirmed the proposition that issues of public importance were fully protected by the First Amendment.

The mass media that backed the plaintiffs in these cases understood that not only did a free press have a right to report on critical issues and people of the day but that citizens had a right to know about those issues and people. The mass media understood another thing: They had more than a right; they had a duty to report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022202010.html

[PATRICK]

1. Read more of this whopper

of understatement and considering Bennett's intrusion into the evil twin of American non-journalism- press bashing- one laughs and is not surprised that the great story being discussed is

the free speech issue of the Danish cartoons!!!

What a fitting minnow of an editorial for a long long discredited institution. Fair.org had progressed far beyond this revelation by useful RW trivia to indict all the American corporate media in its very model of necessarily cramping access to truth and open discussion. Those of us here had little difficulty in quickly reaching the same conclusions on the simplest evidence- the defense of the indefensible- the shredding of truth and principle. And looking back as far as the historical knowledge goes, the press has never been all that hot. There have always been isolated examples of someone "doing the job" against the herd and never repeated or supported until someone else wins the battles.

Talking of censorship principles by one of America's biggest self righteous hypocritical moralizing censors! Only the lapdog press would cringe at this absurdity- and print it in their own failed media.

This is low theater compared to much better and older critiques by media watch groups.

[fjc]

2. It appears that the authors agree on the virtue of the Pentagon Papers,

but disagree on the merits of the NSA leak. I don't think I understand that. And I don't understand why they think that the failure of the Press to re-publish the cartoons was a dereliction of their responsibilty. I mean, there was rioting in a half dozen cities already. What would have been accomplished had they republished them?

[PATRICK]

3. The failure was part

of not having anymore cheeseburgers tossed into street bonfires and getting personal death threats or displeasing calls from the freedom loving WH.