THE FREE PRESS MIGHT NOT BE SO FREE AFTER ALL : WASHINGTON POST SPLIT OVER SNOWDEN CASE

 

There are few papers with as much clout and panache as the Washington Post.  Gone are the days, however, when the Post could shake administrations and bring down Presidents.

Now the Post, one of two journalistic outfits to benefit from the Snowden disclosures, has made a volte face on the issue of Snowden's legitimacy.

On one side of the Post are the journalists that have expressed support for Snowden, while on the other, some journalists are drawing back from their favorable positions.

The latter now talk of the fact that Snowden was wrong in leaking documents that could harm efforts to stop terrorists and conduct legitimate operations.

In an editorial published today, the paper speaks of the fact that Snowden possibly has absconded with many more vital documents than he has lead people to believe, encrypted copies of which may have been distributed to Wikileaks and like organizations. 

The editorial also adds that the government's priority should be to stop such dissemination over that of catching and 'martyrizing' Snowden.

Editorials are just that.  An opinion by someone, usually to balance out what might be a more radical departure from moderate lines.  But this is the Washington Post.  Do they really need to step on their own feet?

Is free press dead? Judging from this editorial it might be.  This is the domain of bloggers, pundits and other second tier journalists.  It is not the job of a newspapers that had made its name for going after the biggest fishes in the very large pond that is American Government, whether or not their stand is just or not.

What this smacks of is some sort of damage control from the paper's principals.  Again, whether or not the stand previously taken was just is not the important factor here.

And if that is what it is, the death knoll for this great newspapers can be heard.  Free speech, and press cannot serve any government, whether it is right or wrong in the stance it takes.  The 'two wrongs don't make a right' or vice versa, do not apply to journalism.  It is important that the paper remember its purpose, and that is to tell the truth, the kind of truth that serves the people, not the government.  

 

For that, we can all resort to to skimming the internet.

Op-Ed

Source : The Raw Story / 7.5.13