Posted on 05/14/2005 4:50:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Confronted with growing government secrecy, the news media must forge a stronger alliance with the public on the need for open government policies, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said Saturday.
"We all need to do a better job of persuading the public that freedom of information is not a media privilege but a key part of what keeps other freedoms alive for all," Curley said at a conference of open government organizations from across the country.
The news industry and advocates for open government, he said, must be united in opposing governmental secrecy that has been on the rise because of national security concerns since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The public also must be recruited as partners with the press in safeguarding First Amendment rights and securing the freedom of information critical to democracy, he said.
"We've got to rebuild the trust with the public we serve so they sense that we're on their side in this fight," Curley said.
To help do that, he said, news organizations must cut back on the practice of going off the record and using anonymous sources merely for the sake of expediency, he said.
Curley's speech came at a conference sponsored by the National Freedom of Information Coalition, which advocates for open government.
Curley cited some encouraging developments in recent months, such as the Sunshine in Government Initiative by the AP and seven journalism organizations. The coalition, which was announced in March, is lobbying for legislation in Congress to speed the release of records under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
Curley also expressed support for federal legislation to shield reporters from being forced to disclose confidential sources.
First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams, in earlier remarks at the conference, said it is critical to establish a legal right in federal law for reporters to protect their sources.
The Supreme Court has been asked to rule in a case involving reporters for The New York Times and Time magazine who face jail time for refusing to reveal their sources to a grand jury about a leak of an undercover CIA officer's name.
The news media "should be out front in trying to persuade Congress" to approve shield legislation if the court declines to hear the appeal or it rules against the press, Abrams said.
To help do that, he said, news organizations must cut back on the practice of going off the record and using anonymous sources merely for the sake of expediency, he said.
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Hey Tom. I know. Maybe if some of the media didn't make stuff up or twist or only report what they want, folks might regain some of that 'trust' thing.
Maybe there would be less government secrecy if the fourth estate wasn't a fifth column
AP and Rueters, one tells a spin, the other backs them up
We'll worry about the media and the First Amendment when the media starts supporting the Second Amendment.
We don't KNOW who's side you're on.
Newsweek's unconscionable printing of a rumor has sparked riots and gotten people killed.
Yeah...the media is supposed to be independent, but they should also show restraint.
You can start by reporting news fairly and stop trying to advance liberal agendas.
Sources like AP have a clear choice: either admit their bias, or cut it out. Simple. Until they do one or the other, they will suffer a massive credibility gap. For them to talk about serving the public is sickening.
that's a laugh!
they won't get my trust until they abandon their leftist, anti-american biases.
Newsweek's unconscionable printing of a rumor has sparked riots and gotten people killed.
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Now there is a fine example of sensationalism , Isikoff and his cohorts should stand trial for their reckless 'reporting'.
What a bunch of manure.
These guys are not interested in freedom. They're interested in the "public's right to know."
Translated into English, that means they get to write what they want to, no matter who it hurts and if it hurts conservative people and causes, so much the better.
"Newsweek's unconscionable printing of a rumor has sparked riots and gotten people killed."
Newsweek , particularly the rumor-monger/pseudo-writer and his or her editor, must be held accountable.
I'm not sure about this one.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of...the press...
Making a law that removes cover for people who feed the press insider info, that they then print, doesn't sound like anything that would abridge freedom....certainly wouldn't make me worry about keeping my big mouth shut. /sarcasm.
My God, Newsweek is such a left-wing rag, nothing printed in it, however false, biased or flat-out traitorous should come as a surprise. Say, has anyone seen Newsweek's liberal whore Eleanor"Oim Tawking Here"Clift on PBS' Sunday morning program? That hag should be writing for Pravda or The Daily Worker. Actually, I guess she does, more or less.
I wonder if the AP would be screaming for less government secrecy is Democrats controlled the congress and presidency.
They are all socialists, so how much more of an alliance do they need?
Why not say that to China and Russia, Associated Press?
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