The
Founders
envisioned
a
strong
press
as
a
foundational
part
of
our
burgeoning
democracy.
A
strong
press
makes
it
easier
for
the
public
to
stay
informed
of
what
their
representatives
are
doing
and
to
hold
their
government
accountable
if
needed.
A
weak
press
gets
you
No
War
in
Ba
Sing
Se
scenarios
where
the
Venn
diagram
of
news
sources
and
propaganda
centers
is
a
circle.
Even
if
the
NYT
isn’t
perfectly
representative
of
American
press
coverage
and
interests,
their
legal
push
to
get
back
in
the
Pentagon
could
have
far-reaching
consequences
for
the
nation’s
news
sources.
Reuters
has
coverage:
The
New
York
Times
sued
the
U.S.
Department
of
Defense
and
Secretary
of
Defense
Pete
Hegseth
on
Thursday
in
an
effort
to
force
the
Pentagon
to
abandon
its
restrictive
new
press
policy,
the
latest
attempt
by
a
U.S.
news
organization
to
reclaim
access
to
government
spaces.The
press
policy,
enacted
last
month,
requires
journalists
to
acknowledge
that
they
could
be
branded
security
risks
and
have
their
Pentagon
press
badges
revoked
if
they
ask
department
employees
to
disclose
classified
and
some
types
of
unclassified
information.
Why
is
the
pressure
on
the
journalists
to
not
ask
questions
that
could
involve
sensitive
information
and
not
on
the
Department
employees
to
keep
their
damned
mouths
shut?
It
is
squarely
within
the
job
description
for
journalists
to
ask
tough
questions
that
get
at
the
spirit
of
what
the
public
needs
to
know,
not
lob
softballs
about
how
bad
the
administration’s
political
enemies
are.
If
the
government
is
hiring
people
who
can’t
be
trusted
to
have
tight
lips
when
it
comes
to
classified
information,
that
means
they’ve
done
a
very
bad
job
of
vetting
their
hires.
Scapegoating
the
reporters
as
safety
risks
when
it’s
actually
your
own
personnel
isn’t
a
good
look,
Gov.
As
important
as
it
is
for
big
press
figures
like
the
Times
to
push
for
access
to
information,
they
could
also
just…
wait.
Especially
when
it
comes
to
Hegseth.
My
pet
theory
is
that
his
push
for
the
name
change
to
the
Department
of
War
was
that
he
knows
how
bad
he
is
at
defending
anything
—
including
secrets.
It
is
only
a
matter
of
time
before
the
Fox
and
Friends
talking
head
that
failed
upward
leaks
a
private
Signal
chat
or
drops
more
proof
of
war
crimes.
You’d
think
the
story
alleging
he
issued
a
double-tap
order
on
men
clinging
to
life
and
posing
no
threat
would
make
him
slow
down
with
the
public
disclosures
but
no,
dude
is
still
releasing
“Drug
Bust”
snuff
films:
The
good
news
is
that
the
law
is
on
their
side.
Even
with
the
“security
risk”
language,
it
is
hard
to
look
at
the
press
rule
as
anything
other
than
an
attempt
at
chilling
speech
that
doesn’t
conform
with
government
doxa.
The
bad
news
is
that
if
this
case
makes
it
all
the
way
to
the
Supreme
Court,
it
is
loaded
with
judges
who
are
willing
to
bend
the
law
to
their
desired
outcomes
if
it
benefits
the
Trump
administration.
New
York
Times
Sues
Pentagon
Over
Press
Access
[Reuters]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.