That's what the surveillance state is trying to do. It has the means, the will and the latitude to go after journalism the way it went after terrorism. Only a more activist press, working together, stands a chance of resisting this.
As things stand today, the Fourth Estate is a state of mind. Some in the press have it, some do not. Some who have it are part of the institutional press. Some, like Ladar Levison and Edward Snowden, are not.
What we do know about Snowden is something we don't know about the new owner of the Washington Post: whether he can go up against the most powerful and secretive forces on the planet... and win.
Repeal the concept of an informed public, repress your decision to take such a drastic step. But it's not just Jeffrey Toobin. Congress did it too.
Published 6 Aug 2013 1:58 pm
PRESSTHINK is a project of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. It is written and edited by professor Jay Rosen, who has taught at NYU since 1986. The blog is about the fate of the press in a digital era and the challenges involved in rethinking what journalism is today. It presents essays, press criticism, interviews and speeches. PressThink does not accept advertising.