Journalist Threat Level Raised...........(color code)

[Joanne98]

Journalists' Info Threat Level Raised


By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/13/2004 1:46:00 PM

According to the reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the trend toward limiting journalists' access to information in the wake, and under the invocation, of 9/11 continues to grow.

"Citizens seem to not realize how drastically their right to know has been limited in the last three years," said Lucy Dalglish, RCFP director, in a statement on the release of its annual update, "Hoefront Confidential. "Even journalists will be astonished at the lengthy list of actions taken by public officials to turn basic government information into state secrets."

The committee has been keeping a running journalistic "threat level" that mirror's the government's own color-coded terrorist threat warnings. The two categories that remain at red alert are Freedom of Information Act restrictions and Access to Terrorism and Immigrations Proceedings, but two other categories have moved from elevated (yellow) to high (orange) status since last year's report: USA PATRIOT Act restrictions and reporters privilege.

Referring to the Patriot Act, the report concludes: " he Justice Department has shown its willingness to use its powers aggressively, even making clear that a law barring newsroom searches is trumped by the
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA452619?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP

THEY CAN SEARCH NEWSROOMS UNDER THE PATRIOT ACT? It's worse than I thought.