Washington Post: NBC News’s Brian Williams Interviews Snowden, Greenwald
NBC News, in collaboration with First Look Media, has landed the first American television interview with GAP client and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Anchor Brian Williams conducted interviews in Russia with both Snowden and journalist Glenn Greenwald that will air next Wednesday in a network special.
In related news, yesterday the House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act, legislation aimed at curtailing some of the NSA’s surveillance activities. Unfortunately, as the New York Timeseditorial board writes, the bill “falls far short” of promises made by representatives to “stop the government from collecting the telephone data of ordinary Americans and … bring[ing] greater transparency to its domestic spying programs.” The piece states that “because of last-minute pressure from a recalcitrant Obama administration, the bill contains loopholes that dilute the strong restrictions in an earlier version, potentially allowing the spy agencies to continue much of their phone-data collection.”
Related Article: NBC News
In this column, GAP International Associate Alison Glick analyzes a recent media freedom report generated by the nonprofit Freedom House. The annual report has shocking findings, including that only 14 percent of the world’s population enjoys a free press and that the U.S. experienced its most significant decline in its press freedom rating in a decade. One reason, Glick writes, is the ongoing assault on federal whistleblowers and the lack of protections they enjoy to speak with journalists and report wrongdoing.
Key Quote: While attempts to justify press crackdowns often point to post-9/11 “national security” imperatives, it’s increasingly clear that such regimented information restriction and dragnet surveillance have less to do with keeping citizens safe and more to do with the financial and political safety of those who profit from these systems of control. In order to change this dynamic, journalists and media outlets will need to come to terms with business and political interests that directly or indirectly affect how and what they report if they aspire to a truly Free Press.
Tri States Public Radio: Ag Gag to Hide Food-Related Problems
This article details how “a whole host of food-related problems might go unreported” in states which have instituted Ag Gag laws criminalizing agriculture industry whistleblowers. Director of GAP’s Food Integrity Campaign, Amanda Hitt, is quoted.
Key Quote: Designed to discourage whistleblowers, journalists and other truth-tellers by criminalizing fact-gathering, this suppression legislation is prior restraint, critics say. Amanda Hitt from the Government Accountability Project said the trend is like chronic lawbreakers saying, “Hey, we’re sick of getting caught doing crimes. Could you do us a favor and criminalize catching us?”
Dylan Blaylock is Communications Director for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.