The Fifth Reich and the Fourth Estate

Reemerging from too much work (and then too much fun) into the world where news takes place, I was rather hoping to have a Wizard of Oz sort of experience (except that I really don't want to wake up in Kansas), whereby one says "Gosh, it was like this place only there were a bunch of evil criminals in charge and there were way too many flags." Alas, the rest of you who have been keeping up can imagine my disappointment.

One of the abundant collection of distressing stories from last week is the court's attack on journalism. It looks like Judith Miller and Matt Cooper may have to go to jail for refusing to reveal their source(s). I don't need to explain why this is really not okay, right? Of course, Miller and Cooper are far from the first journalists to face prosecution for respecting their sources, but even so, in our current climate it's hard for me not to see this as more of the continuing creep of tyranny (to use the word we eighteenth-century scholars are so fond of). Meanwhile, what kind of sentence is Gannon facing?

In other news of the beleaguered Fourth Estate, U.S. District Judge William Quarles has ruled that it's perfectly okay for the Governor of Maryland to order employees not to speak to the press:

Politically, the dispute has helped the governor, especially with supporters who share his distrust of the newspapers and enjoy seeing them "get poked in the eye," said Matthew Crenson, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Last fall, Ehrlich's office sent an e-mail to 225 government officials, barring them from talking to The Sun's Statehouse bureau chief, David Nitkin, and columnist Michael Olesker.

"No one in the Executive Department or Agencies is to speak with David Nitkin or Michael Olesker until further notice," said the e-mail. "Do not return calls or comply with any requests. The Governor's Press Office feels that currently both are failing to objectively report on any issue dealing with the Ehrlich-Steele Administration. Please relay this information to your respective department heads."

I find it pretty appalling that the court is ruling in favor of an administrative decision to create a blacklist, but hey, I'm sensitive to these things, or so I've been told. You know, when I lived in Maryland, we had a democratic governor, and nothing like this ever, ever happened. I'm just sayin'