Media Muzzles Itself

Propagandist Osama bin Laden has robbed Americans of one of their most cherished liberties -- media freedom. It might be termed blank-check journalism -- the main news media of the United States sign away their right to make judgment calls because of vaguely hinted national security concerns. At the same time that the five major TV news organizations in the United States have agreed to self-censorship, the leaders of 21 journalism groups in the U.S. say government security measures are limiting the ability of the news media to give people the information they need to stay safe.