USA: Angriff auf die "vierte Gewalt"

--- Adam L. Penenberg, der "Medien-Hacker" von Wired News, bezeichnet die Anklagen gegen eine ganze Reihe von Journalisten nach Enthüllungen in einer CIA-Affäre als Angriff auf die vierte Gewalt. Seine Kritik richtet sich vor allem gegen US-Justizminister Ashcroft, der die Verfahren autorisiert hat: under Justice Department guidelines, Ashcroft must approve any subpoena of a journalist, so how do you explain the rash of subpoenas that Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney from Chicago, has doled out to Time magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBC? Already one reporter -- Matthew Cooper from Time -- has been held in contempt by a federal judge for refusing to appear before the grand jury that Fitzgerald convened to investigate which Bush administration senior official(s) leaked a covert spy's identity to columnist Robert Novak. Cooper faces jail unless Time prevails on appeal. And he may not be the only one. Walter Pincus, a 71-year-old national security reporter for The Washington Post, and Judith "Germs" Miller of The New York Times, were also slapped with subpoenas, which both publications plan to fight. NBC's Tim Russert skirted contempt charges by meeting with prosecutors. ... I commend Time, The Washington Post and The New York Times for refusing to cooperate. Reporters can never reveal anonymous sources. Without our promises of confidentiality, sources would never be able to trust us. Media organizations must draw a line in the sand, as Ashcroft tries to use his position as the nation's top law officer to bully journalists. Auch in einem anderen Fall geht die US-Justiz momentan hart gegen Journalisten vor.

Darüber hinaus berichtet Wired News auch über eine Art "Angriff auf die Unabhängigkeit von Bloggern", der durch den Einbau von "Advertorials" in Blogs durch den neuen Anbieter Blogversations droht.