I think I’m noticing a bit of a pattern here: when reporters run stories government officials don’t like, those officials think they can start ignoring the First Amendment.
First it was Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R), who issued a directive to his administration, announcing that those who work under him are no longer free to speak with The Baltimore Sun’s statehouse bureau chief or its columnist covering the legislature. The stunt, which has prompted a lawsuit, was, according to Ehrlich, “meant to have a chilling effect” on the paper’s reporting.
On the other side of the country, the U.S. Army is following a similar tack with the Denver Post.
The Army is denying The Denver Post access to Fort Carson and to information on military activities in the wake of a Sunday article in The Post on military medical holds.
“We have temporarily suspended relations with The Denver Post as a direct result of Fort Carson not being given fair and balanced treatment in a story that appeared on Dec. 5, 2004,” Lt. Col. David Johnson, the chief public affairs officer at the base, said Wednesday evening.
Yes, now I remember, the government has the power to abridge the freedom of the press if the government doesn’t care for the coverage.
The details don’t make the Army look any better. The Denver Post ran a front-page expose about a week ago on mentally and physically ill National Guard and Army Reserve members who say they are being denied access to quality care and are being shoved out of the military without disability pay. Officials at Fort Carson, who spoke to Post reporters about the controversy on the record, felt like it was overly-negative, which prompted the backlash against the paper, including a prohibition on the paper’s distribution on the base.
Purely in the abstract, how can a government agency ban a newspaper on government property? Was this some little detail hidden away in the Patriot Act or something?
The Post reported this week that Army regulations offer Fort Carson’s commanders the authority to deny access to the base (including, apparently, newspaper delivery people), but only with due process. With this in mind, the paper is fighting the decision.
“They are singling us out simply because they didn’t like our story,” [Denver Post Editor Greg Moore] said. “Other newspapers and media organizations have reported on the issue. Our story was thorough, and balanced the concerns of soldiers with substantial response from the military, including from some officers who acknowledged problems with the program.
“It’s our job to investigate issues like these and explain them to our readers, many of whom have family members serving in the military,” Moore added. “We hope Fort Carson officials reconsider their ban of The Denver Post. If they don’t, we will appeal to senior military officers at Fort Carson and in Washington, and through any other legal or congressional channels that are available to us.”
I’ll keep you posted as to what happens.