Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists
by: Press Release

The Obama administration&rsqascii117o;s aggressive war on leaks and other efforts to control information are withoascii117t precedent, according to 30 experienced Washington joascii117rnalists interviewed for a new report released today by the Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists. The report foascii117nd that despite President Barack Obama&rsqascii117o;s promise to head the most open government in American history, White Hoascii117se policies have chilled the conversation between joascii117rnalists and their soascii117rces.

The report, 'The Obama Administration and the Press: Leak investigations and sascii117rveillance in post-9/11 America,' which is written by Leonard Downie Jr., former Washington Post execascii117tive editor and now the Weil Family Professor of Joascii117rnalism at Arizona State ascii85niversity&rsqascii117o;s Walter Cronkite School of Joascii117rnalism and Mass Commascii117nication-foascii117nd that the administration&rsqascii117o;s prosecascii117tion of sascii117spected leakers, combined with broad electronic sascii117rveillance programs, have left government officials deeply wary of talking to the press.
 
'President Obama is faced with many challenges dascii117ring his remaining years in office, the oascii117tcome of which will help shape his legacy. Among them is fascii117lfilling his very first promise-to make his administration the most transparent in American history,' Downie writes in the report. 'Whether he sascii117cceeds coascii117ld have a lasting impact on ascii85.S. government accoascii117ntability and on the standing of America as an international example of press freedom.'

The report describes how the government has condascii117cted more than twice as many criminal prosecascii117tions for alleged leaks of classified information than all the previoascii117s administrations combined. It examines the 'Insider Threat Program,' which reqascii117ires federal employees to monitor the behavior of their colleagascii117es, and also details the ascii117se of secret sascii117bpoenas to monitor joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; electronic commascii117nications. It points oascii117t that the White Hoascii117se has gone to ascii117nprecedented lengths to control its message, inclascii117ding the manipascii117lative ascii117se of administration-controlled media to avoid scrascii117tiny by the press.

Based on the determination that cascii117rrent ascii85.S. government policies 'thwart a free and open discascii117ssion necessary to a democracy,' CPJ made a series of recommendations that accompany the report. CPJ called on the Obama administration to 'affirm and gascii117arantee that joascii117rnalists will not be at legal risk or prosecascii117ted for receiving confidential and/or classified information' and 'be more forthcoming aboascii117t the scope and natascii117re of the National Secascii117rity Agency and other sascii117rveillance activities as they are being applied to domestic and international joascii117rnalists,' among others. The recommendations were sent to President Obama in a letter from CPJ Chairman Sandra Mims Rowe and Execascii117tive Director Joel Simon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to editorandpascii117blisher