Opinion in Brief
The Kenyan government launched an attack last week on one of the country’s major media companies in response to its critical reports about widespread government corruption. Masked police officers armed with AK-47s raided the company’s television and printing divisions, destroying equipment and lighting thousands of editions of the day’s paper on fire.
The Kenyan government launched an attack last week on one of the country’s major media companies in response to its critical reports about widespread government corruption. Masked police officers armed with AK-47s raided the company’s television and printing divisions, destroying equipment and lighting thousands of editions of the day’s paper on fire.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration is working on making a free press and terrorism synonymous. A Justice Department brief filed last month stated that reporters can be prosecuted under the 1917 Espionage Act. The administration is also stepping up efforts to keep government officials silent.
This is hardly a surprise, considering the fact that Bush accused the New York Times of “helping the enemy” when it released a story about the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program.
Troops haven’t stormed any newspaper buildings (yet) but the federal government is undoubtedly trying to impede and undermine the media. So ultimately, the White House’s response to bad press is just as destructive as the actions in Kenya. The only difference is that instead of masked gunmen, President Bush is trampling our rights. Comforting, eh?
