The three journalists accused of illegally publishing governmental secrets regarding Denmark’s stance on Iraq have been acquitted today by a Danish Court.
The editor-in-chief and two journalists from the Denmark paper Berlingske Tidende are on trial today in front of a Danish court for publishing leaked governmental secrets during February and March of 2004.
Two reporters at the Berlingske Tidene could face jail time for publishing classified intelligence reports about Iraq’s weapons program. Michael Bjerre and Jesper Larsen were recently charged with publishing confidential government documents, which in Denmark is punishable by fines or up to two years in prison.
From Reuters: An Iraqi court on Wednesday threw out terrorism charges against a cameraman for U.S. network CBS who has been held in jail for a year, saying there was no evidence against him.
If you have only one article to read on this blog today, read this one written by Arthur Sulzberger Jr, chairman and publisher, and Russell T. Lewis, chief executive, The New York Times. Here is the beginning of their article: "Last Thursday, a federal district judge ordered a New York Times reporter, Judy Miller, sent to prison (see former posting). Her crime was doing her job as the founders of this nation intended. Here's what happened and why it should concern you."
But in my opinion, this affair could be seen as a real gift to The New York Times: a few weeks ago Judith Miller was in a very uncomfortable situation - it's an understatement - after her "revelations" about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... and now she becomes a hero defending press freedom! Well done! (Nevertheless, I have always considered the First Amendment as a fantastic tool to protect journalists and I agree with some of the article's statements).
If you have only one article to read on this blog today, read this one written by Arthur Sulzberger Jr, chairman and publisher, and Russell T. Lewis, chief executive, The New York Times. Here is the beginning of their article: "Last Thursday, a federal district judge ordered a New York Times reporter, Judy Miller, sent to prison (see former posting). Her crime was doing her job as the founders of this nation intended. Here's what happened and why it should concern you."
But in my opinion, this affair could be seen as a real gift to The New York Times: a few weeks ago Judith Miller was in a very uncomfortable situation - it's an understatement - after her "revelations" about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... and now she becomes a hero defending press freedom! Well done! (Nevertheless, I have always considered the First Amendment as a fantastic tool to protect journalists and I agree with some of the article's statements).
In this article Michael Hann at the Guardian "examines the air of secrecy and silence surrounding the US media's treatment of George Bush's 'war on terror.'" In his article he writes "American contractors and soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners in a prison outside Baghdad? A huge story, by anyone's standards, surely, especially when pictures of the abuse were broadcast on the US TV network CBS. So it was no surprise that newspapers around the world made huge, horrified play of the events at the Abu Ghraib prison. It was more of a surprise, however, that the story did not receive the same level of coverage in the US papers." The article goes on to feature further examples of how the US media have treated other Iraq news issues.
Source: The Guardian
