What's happening to free speech and FOI in the U.S.?
Dr. Kyu Ho Youm writes, "
This year we are supposed to mark the 40th anniversary of our Freedom of
Information Act. But our precipitously shrinking access to government
information leaves us less to celebrate than in the past. In our country, more
information is classified now than ever. Informational secrecy is becoming the
rule, not the exception. Next year will be the 35th year since the U.S. Supreme Court held that news
reporters cannot protect their sources as a First Amendment right. Its
unwavering judicial rebuff of the reporter's privilege seems out of character,
given that more and more countries accept the privilege as a right of a free
press."
Read this very insightful column by Dr. Kyu Ho Youm, the Jonathan Marshall First Amendment Chair at the University
of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, published in the Register Guard.