to what extent are national security measures valid when they under mine the free press?

Answer 1

I think the better question is:
...to what extent are National Security measures valid when the ARE undermined by free press?

The free and democratic notion of "free press" is a very western idea that is abused flagrantly in any war that the US is involved in by Western press...
Personally, with this "new enemy" called terrorism (which has been around for decades) ... I think the rules of war should be rewritten. The press can wait in the rear for good stories to cycle back...and if the bad guys feel like hiding in a mosque...then the mosque should be leveled. Too many rules in this war that the allies adhere to that terrorists ignore.

Answer 2

This assumes we have a free press, which is not really true in the US anymore. All the major news outlets are owned by large corporations - ie GE owns NBC, etc - and they have the power of saying what the "news" can and cannot tell the public. I'm not even sure that national security has ever been an issue with the press. Remember the Oklahoma City bombing? People were on all the time saying how easy it was to make that kind of bomb and that you could get the plans on the internet! How is the making of bombs not a threat to national security?? The people supposedly have a "right to know", but the things that we don't know and WON'T ever know are more important and staggering than the arrest of Jon Benet's alleged killer. They tell us what they think we need to know.

Answer 3

You have that backwards. It should be when does the free press undermine the National Security. Clearly, if the press decided to publish a leaked battle plan or classified materiels that could cause harm to our forces/country...then there has been a violation.

If a reporter is looking to do a story on Cuba and illegally obtains/purchases/creates information revealing covert operations and publishes them.....he is doing more harm than good.

That would have to be the base of the arguement. How much harm was done...or how much will be done? by releasing this information.

Answer 4

The standard was set by the US Supreme Court in the Pentagon Papers cases.

The only stories that can be restricted are those that would cause an immediate and certain harm to human life. This is limited to things like reporting the location of troops on deployment (thanks, Geraldo), or revealing the identities and pictures of undercover law enforcement agents.

Revealing information that makes the government look bad is not a valid form of censorship, especially when all of the information revealed is already publicly available through other sources.

Answer 5

Anytime that a life would be saved or a criminal would be captured!

Ask the question in the other way. To what extent should free press be valid when it undermines national security?

Answer 6

To what extent are free press measures valid when they undermine national security?

Answer 7

Well, to the point, that they are effective at blocking the liberal bias that some newspapers publish at.
A good example, is when a paper cries foul, at the using of classified information, or detailed information, on ongoing issues, like tracking terrorists, or broadcasting troop movements.
During vietnam, the famous phrase, charlie is listening, proved to be all too real, when they could tell where we were.....during Tet, when they infiltrated into Saigon, it was later learned, they were stockpiling weapons outside of the capital....because they were able to know when we went on patrols.....because of the media.
As well, it's hard to fight a war, when all the soldiers hear, is how evil they are....it's bad for morale, and as well, you're forcing our soldiers, our neighbors, to fight on two fronts....and that's just wrong.
If the media wasn't out to get our own president, or to help terrorists, they wouldn't have to undermine the press.....or, put up with the smacking bias.

Answer 8

When Congress have passed articles of war surpreeion of the Press is wiht in the right of the leader of the county. Congress has not vote in articles of War at this time. The President can not declare war and then suppress the Press. That is not in his powers for good reason. That is how you end up with a dictator.

Dano

Answer 9

To what extent are national security measures effective when undermined by the press?

Oops....I see several of us had the same thought when we read that question. Sorry...didn't mean to plagiarize.

Answer 10

Masses value security before freedom, therefore free press does not exist where people are forced to be affraid of everything, like the US.