A NSA listening post in Bluffdale. Yahoo/Reuters
In a joint report the ACLU and Human Rights Watch claims that U.S. surveillance is a direct threat to journalism. -Yahoo/Reuters Journalists are having trouble securing sources due to the justified fear of their conversation being intercepted. Sources are even unwilling to discuss unclassified issues due to fear. In addition to NSA surveillance, the Obama administration has been cracking down on leakers and whistleblowers. The Department of Justice disputes the report.
My Comment:
Investigative reporting was probably already dead in this country but if it wasn't before it is now. Assuming the media ever actually tried to do a report that is hostile or critical to the government, they won't be able to get any sources. The Obama administration is incredibly hostile to any government employee that talks to the media without permission. They have also been caught red handed spying on journalists on several occasions and has even named journalists as criminal co-conspirators to leakers. Generally speaking, if you are in the media and aren't a brainless government mouthpiece, and even if you are, you are almost certainly being watched.
I shouldn't have to explain why this is a bad thing, but I will anyways. The role of the press is to inform the public and act as a check against government power. It can't do either of these things if they can't secure sources. And there is the so called "chilling effect" on the media. Journalists are afraid to cover certain stories due to legitimate concerns for their safety and the safety of their sources. I don't know if this blog counts as journalism or not but one of the things I consider before I post anything here is "will I end up on a watchlist if I post this"? I usually end up posting it anyways, but there a few stories I have held back on. This can't be the way a so-called free country is run.
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