The First Amendment

8 Random Items for 1/8/2009 #2

Do you ever wonder why there has been so little real reporting in the American press? Well, the Bush DOJ is going after the New York Times and the whistle blower who went public with the Bush administration's illegal domestic surveillance program. Yes, you read that right. They are not going after the lawbreakers, but rather those who exposed the lawbreaking.

I'm not sure how much power an Obama administration would have to stop this if it is already underway when he takes office, but I would hope they would find a way. The press should always, always, always be protected whenever they are exposing corruption and law breaking.

This speaks to a larger issue we have which is a crisis in the American press. Investigative journalism is near dead, so we the people and our elective representatives need to applaud this type of whistle blowing. So much of what passes for reporting in this day and age is reporters acting as little more than stenographers for powerful people. I don't see the press as biased towards conservatives or liberals as much as I see them stuck in a rut, repeating the conventional wisdom and taking to task those who would oppose it. When this happens, America suffers.

In the history of this nation, the press has performed a role as important as the three major branches of government. The first amendment allows them to serve as yet another check and balance, protecting the people from abuse. The press has even brought down a President for his law breaking. Sadly, the press, as it largely exists today, is as incurious as President Bush. It is to our shame as a nation that they have been cowed out of doing their job. It is to our shame as a nation that powerful conservatives seek to punish those rare occasions when the press does do it job. It is to our shame as a nation that we have not risen up and demanded more of our press.

Or have we? Newspapers are going out of business or cutting back on their publishing schedule. Ratings are down for network newscasts. Maybe the citizen journalism allowed by the web is what will save "the press" for the people. For the country's sake, I hope it's true.