Yay! U.S.A. now rates 46th in press freedom! - RWB (Reporters Without Borders)

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17. Here are some news articles from the last 12 months about press freedom in the U.S.

I just came across this thread while googling on the subject. I am posting links to some news articles that were published during the last 12 months:


Gov't obtains wide AP phone records in probe: http://news.yahoo.com/govt-obtains-wide-ap-phone-records-probe-202010831.html

Obtaining AP phone records required Holder’s approval: http://washingtonexaminer.com/obtaining-ap-phone-records-required-holders-approval/article/2529585

Phone Intercepts by U.S. Hurts News Flow, AP Chief Says: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-19/phone-intercepts-by-u-s-hurts-news-flow-ap-chief-says.html

Federal government falsely accused James Rosen, a law abiding news reporter, of being “an aider and abettor and/or co-conspirator” in a criminal investigation: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/05/the-doj-versus-journalist-gmail.html

The Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/opinion/another-chilling-leak-investigation.html?_r=0

To treat a reporter as a criminal for doing his job — seeking out information the government doesn’t want made public — deprives Americans of the First Amendment freedom on which all other constitutional rights are based. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-in-ap-rosen-investigations-government-makes-criminals-of-reporters/2013/05/21/377af392-c24e-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html?hpid=z2

Obama brings chilling effect on journalism. A report finds the U.S. government’s aggressive prosecution of leaks and efforts to control information are having a chilling effect on journalists and government whistle-blowers.http://www.nbc11news.com/news/nationalnews/headlines/Report-Obama-brings-chilling-effect-on-journalism-227224781.html

Last May the FCC proposed an initiative to thrust the federal government into newsrooms across the country. With its “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs,” or CIN, the agency plans to send researchers to grill reporters, editors and station owners about how they decide which stories to run. … the FCC’s queries may be hard for the broadcasters to ignore. They would be out of business without an FCC license… why does the CIN study include newspapers when the FCC has no authority to regulate print media? http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304680904579366903828260732

The First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” But under the Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission is planning to send government contractors into the nation’s newsrooms to determine whether journalists are producing articles, television reports, Internet content, and commentary that meets the public’s “critical information needs.” Those “needs” will be defined by the administration, and news outlets that do not comply with the government’s standards could face an uncertain future. It’s hard to imagine a project more at odds with the First Amendment...
If the FCC goes forward, it’s not clear what will happen to news organizations that fall short of the new government standards. Perhaps they will be disciplined. Or perhaps the very threat of investigating their methods will nudge them into compliance with the administration’s journalistic agenda. What is sure is that it will be a gross violation of constitutional rights. http://washingtonexaminer.com/new-obama-initiative-tramples-first-amendment-protections/article/2544363