In Obama’s war on leaks, reporters fight back

The Washington Post ^ | 10/4/2013 | Leonard Downie Jr

[Beave Meister]

Leonard Downie, a former executive editor of The Washington Post, is the Weil family professor of journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. This article is based on his report “The Obama Administration and the Press,” forthcoming Thursday from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In the Watergate era, the Nixon administration’s telephone wiretaps were the biggest concern for journalists and sources worried about government surveillance. That was one of the reasons why Bob Woodward met with FBI official Mark Felt (a.k.a. “Deep Throat”) in an underground parking garage in Arlington, and why he and Carl Bernstein did much of their reporting by knocking on the front doors of their sources’ homes. Except for the aborted prosecution of Daniel Ellsberg for the leak of the Pentagon Papers, criminal culpability or pervasive surveillance were not major concerns, especially after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in 1974.

Not so now. With the passage of the Patriot Act after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a vast expansion of intelligence agencies and their powers, the aggressive exploitation of intrusive digital surveillance capabilities, the excessive classification of public documents and officials’ sophisticated control of the news media’s access to the workings of government, journalists who cover national security are facing vast and unprecedented challenges in their efforts to hold the government accountable to its citizens. They find that government officials are increasingly fearful of talking to them, and they worry that their communications with sources can be monitored at any time.

[Beave Meister]

“Whenever I’m asked what is the most manipulative and secretive administration I’ve covered, I always say it’s the one in office now,” Bob Schieffer, CBS News anchor and chief Washington correspondent, told me. “Every administration learns from the previous administration. They become more secretive and put tighter clamps on information. This administration exercises more control than George W. Bush’s did, and his before that.”

Welcome to the party Bob. But you'd probably still vote for him two more times if you could.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

They find that government officials are increasingly fearful of talking to them, and they worry that their communications with sources can be monitored at any time.

Gee, maybe they could speak out about it.

Naaaaah.

[Lysandru]

If these jackoffs want to fight back— allow me to suggest that they just start reporing like real journalists.

[Beave Meister]

“A memo went out from the chief of staff a year ago to White "House employees and the intelligence agencies that told people to freeze and retain any e-mail, and presumably phone logs, of communications with me,” Sanger said. As a result, longtime sources no longer talk to him. “They tell me: ‘David, I love you, but don’t e-mail me. Let’s don’t chat until this blows over.’ ” Sanger, who has worked for the Times in Washington for two decades, said, “This is most closed, control-freak administration I’ve ever covered.” When will they go postal on this administration?

[Ann Archy]

NEVER...These Urinalists are WHORES and they sold their body and soul to the DEMOCRAT PARTY!!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Beave Meister.

That was one of the reasons why Bob Woodward met with FBI official Mark Felt (a.k.a. "Deep Throat") in an underground parking garage in Arlington, and why he and Carl Bernstein did much of their reporting by knocking on the front doors of their sources' homes. Except for the aborted prosecution of Daniel Ellsberg for the leak of the Pentagon Papers, criminal culpability or pervasive surveillance were not major concerns, especially after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in 1974.

Yeah, right, the wiretaps were already known, sure they were. So it made more sense to meet in person, because it would be impossible to tail one or both to these rendezvous, particularly after the leaks started to be published. Ridiculous. Instead of blaming the Patriot Act, put the blame where it belongs -- on the anti-American Kenyan-born Muzzie jihadist in the White House.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks again Beave Meister. Zero's war on US citizens? Not a peep out of the Partisan Media Shills. Leonard Downie keyword:

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