Writer says war unleashed against U.S. journalism

San Antonio Express-News ^ | May 21, 2006 | Sheila Hotchkin

[RayChuang88]

Marie Brenner, a writer-at-large for Vanity Fair magazine whose reporting career began against the backdrop of the Watergate era, said Saturday that war is being waged against this nation's press and journalists must stand together to turn back assaults on their freedoms.

Her speech opened the two-day San Antonio Express-News/Poynter National Writers' Workshop, one of several such journalism conferences held around the country each year.

In her speech, Brenner drew parallels between the Watergate era of the 1970s and today's "Plamegate" era, in which the disclosure of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity led to a criminal investigation that saw courts compelling reporters to reveal confidential sources. New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for her initial refusal.

[RayChuang88]

Hey Ms. Brenner, perhaps you might want to ask why the modern public Internet ratted out the lies and distortions of Howell Raines and Gerald Boyd at the New York Times, Dan Rather and Mary Mapes at CBS, and Eason Jordan at CNN--they're not employed anymore. This much more skeptical view of the MSM by the general public is starting to kill newspapers all over the USA, and in fact made your magazine quite unreadable to too many American readers.

[in hoc signo vinces]

Well...if they (journalists) would quit acting like seditious arse clowns there would be no need to go to war against them.

But War is what they started, and so War is what they got...

They just cant handle the truth...ha!

[JAWs]

The war is not new. The difference is that today the anti-MSM forces deploy deadlier, swifter and more accurate weapons.

[SaxxonWoods]

"At the same time, she said, newspapers are facing declining readership, and all members of the mainstream media are seeing their credibility attacked on Web logs, or "blogs."...more and more Americans now receive their news through these partisan channels."

Poor baby!

MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[MeanWestTexan]

"assaults on their freedoms"

Freedom to lie and spin and omit, I guess.

[SAMS]

Sniff....

[3AngelaD]

Boo. Hoo. She's just steamed because it is harder and harder for them to get away with their lying and misrepresentation, and that we all know what they are now.

[Ditto]

In her speech, Brenner drew parallels between the Watergate era of the 1970s and today's "Plamegate" era, in which the disclosure of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity led to a criminal investigation that saw courts compelling reporters to reveal confidential sources. New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for her initial refusal.

Well duh! The Media without any evidence of a crime screams at the top of their lungs that there must be a criminal investigation and when the only material witnesses to the alleged crime refuse to testify and are sent to the pokey like any other citizen would be, they want to cry again!

Someone please point out what section of the Constitution that says that journalists (a self anointed position) are exempt from the laws everyone else has to follow.

[Constantine XIII]

It's not a war on journalists, it's a war on stupid people.

Coincidentally, a large fraction of all stupid people are journalists.

[sono]

Looks like journalism suffers from self-inflicted wounds.

[MissEdie]

Think she needs some cheese with her whine?

[oolatec]

They unleased a war against the US and it's soldiers first. Boohoo.

[dead]

Brenner said that while journalists are well aware of these and other threats to the press, Americans at large have not yet begun to pay attention, and much less realize the potential significance. She said journalists have an obligation to shine a light on what is happening.

So if your panties aren’t twisted as tight as this shrew’s over the issue, it's because your feeble mind just can’t grasp the implications like hers can. She, and her companions, must work harder to drill their fear into your head.

It is utterly inconceivable to her that people aren’t working to protect her product because her product sucks ass.

The jig is up, sister. If you can’t make it in the marketplace, get a job at NPR.

[Brett66]

That would be a dream come true, we could roll the tanks into the NYT, CNN, CBS, etc. and summarily jail those that go willingly and shoot those that resist.

[Publius6961]

...said Saturday that war is being waged against this nation's press and journalists must stand together to turn back assaults on their freedoms.

Gee, and here I thought they had all the freedom they need...

Might he need some cheese to go with that whine?

Of course, if he's referring to the apparent delusion among "journalists" that they are exempt from the consequences of stealing, processing stolen material or compromising national security, in addition to immunity from the consequences of treason and sedition --- well, we mght have us a discussion here.

"Freedoms", indeed!

[Darkwolf377]

war is being waged against this nation's press and journalists must stand together to turn back assaults on their freedoms.

Someone dares tell journalists that their rights are encumbered by responsibilities, and it's war.

Yet how many journalists support, say, McCain/Feingold because of political reasons?

Free speech for me, but not for thee, indeed.

[Cementjungle]

A picture of the writer:

[GSWarrior]

...whose reporting career began against the backdrop of the Watergate era

No need to read any further.

[Publius6961]

It's not a war on journalists, it's a war on stupid people.
Coincidentally, a large fraction of all stupid people are journalists.

I might add that a very large fraction of journalists are stupid people...

[colorado tanker]

It's a self-inflicted wound by the MSM, babe. NYT and the rest of the posse threw their own reporters under the bus because they thought they had a "get" on Cheney or Rove. So, they forced the courts to decide issues that would have been better left undecided, because they made clear there is no such thing as a reporters privilege.

The Wall Street Journal predicted this from the beginning.