White House Tightens Press Controls, Cites Need For 'Cohesion'
Newsweek reported on the White House's new press restrictions, detailing the administrative changes. What they omit is that every administration, when facing inconvenient truths or intense public scrutiny (often over unpopular foreign policy decisions), tends to 'streamline' information. Think back to the Bush administration's media blackouts on returning coffins, or the Obama administration's
record-breaking prosecution of whistleblowers, including the Espionage Act charge against Reality Winner who exposed Russian interference in the 2016 election years before it was acknowledged. These restrictions aren't about 'efficiency'; they're about narrative control. It appears 'freedom of the press' is a principle admired more in theory than in practice, especially when journalists start
asking inconvenient questions about, say, the billions in unconditional aid to foreign conflicts while domestic needs languish. How much 'cohesion' is required before accountability becomes obsolete?