All Blog Posts from Public Eye

Heart Huckabee?: Mike Huckabee, following in the illustrious Bruno Magli footsteps of O.J. Simpson, has become the latest public figure to decry the blasted media's fixation on Paris Hilton and her ilk. “One of the frustrations is that there is more attention on Britney Spears getting out of a car without underwear than there is about who is going to be the next president,” he told the Associated Press. Who will be next to take this brave stance? Hiccup girl? Prince Harry? An ailing whale shark? Stay tuned!

Words Fail Her: You know what's not cool? Murder jokes! Reports CNN: "A Lebanese television anchor's comments and laughter regarding the assassination of Lebanese anti-Syrian parliamentarian Walid Eido have caused a furor and resulted in her firing." The unidentified anchor didn't realize the microphone was on when she made the comments, natch. At least she didn't go to the bathroom.

Swords, But No Shields: Unlike Indiana Republican Mike Pence and others, the White House says there is no need for a federal shield law for journalists. "History has demonstrated that the protections already in place, including the department's own rigorous internal review of media subpoena requests, are sufficient," Assistant Attorney General Rachel Brand told the House Judiciary Committee, according to the AP. Basic message: Chill out, journalists. Sure, potential whistleblowers may be less likely to share crucial information for fear the government will force you to reveal their identity. But who cares about all that, right? We're all a little whistleblown out anyway. Onto the more important issues!

Black Out: Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann wrote an op-ed for the New York Times about Iran. As Editor & Publisher notes, it's been an open secret for days that the Times was holding the piece because of objections by the Central Intelligence Agency. Today, the piece was published – with black bars across certain passages. The authors argue that there was no reason to black out the material in question, as it contained no classified information. Write the pair: "National security must be above politics. In a democracy, transparency in government has to be honored and protected. To classify information for reasons other than the safety and security of the United States and its interests is a violation of these principles. It is for this reason that we will continue to press for the release of the article without the material deleted."

Balk!: The Bush administration and some Republicans are clashing over administration efforts to force journalists to reveal their sources. According to the Wall Street Journal, the "controversy is reaching a flashpoint in San Francisco, where the Justice Department is expected to file papers today urging that two San Francisco Chronicle reporters face jail if they refuse to reveal their source for confidential grand-jury proceedings concerning baseball slugger Barry Bonds's alleged use of steroids." Sen. Richard Lugar and Rep. Mike Pence, meanwhile, are planning to reintroduce legislation that will limit the government's ability to force journalists to give up their sources. "It's one of those things that's a little counterintuitive for a cheerful right-winger to be involved in," Pence told the Journal. "I really do believe that the framers of the Constitution put a free and independent press in the First Amendment to protect the public's right to know, and the only way you do that is protect reporters' ability to keep certain sources confidential."

Laura Left On Limb: After First Lady Laura Bush complained that "there are a lot of good things that are happening [in Iraq] that aren't covered" last week, some conservative commentators said the time had come to give that particular argument a rest.

Read full post…