Good Morning Fascists

Well if the news buzz of this morning is any indication of how the week is going to be, get ready for a doosy.  This morning one of the many headlines that caught my eye was the Attorney General stating  that reporters could be prosecuted for leaking information that threatens National Security.

I believe that in journalism there should be a standard on what is news worthy and what is not.  A reporter should know and weigh the outcome of all information put out to the public.  Do not get me wrong I stand firmly behind the First Amendment right.  But I also know that there is a measure of responsibility to this as well.  Lets look at some cases.  Was it necessary for the press to release the name of the CIA operative?  In my opinion 'NO' this was not news worthy and placed the life of the woman, in question, in serious jeopardy.  Now on the other hand was it a threat to National Security to leak the information that the NSA was conducting unlawful wiretaps 'NO'.  This affected the masses and pointed out no individual but yet let the people know that their government was now infringing on their civil liberties.  This in my mind is News Worthy.  I feel reporters have a duty to present information to the public and in a way is a part of our system of checks and balances, because as we know our elected officials rarely if ever let us know what is going on in the clubhouse. 

But we must keep in mind that there are some things that we the public may not need to know.  For instance issues that could cause the needless deaths of our troops or elected officials is not necessarily a need to know until such a time that the event has passed.  If a reporter leaked the where-abouts of a special forces team and they where subsequently ambushed, that would be a misuse of the first amendment in my eyes.  And that is where responsibility falls into the equation. 

So to elaborate on Mr. Gonzalez's point, I feel that there is a time and a place for criminal action to take place when it comes to the media, but this is not something that should be used randomly or to protect the ego's of men who are criminal.  The problem with opening the box is that once you open it, it is free to interpretation and when that happens the news that we currently have access to will diminish because reporters will start to fear reprisals from the government if they say the wrong thing.  (More Fascists doctrine.)