The End of Free Speech?
State Dept., many Democrats, and MSM no longer believe in the First Amendment
Not so long ago, most people would have been deeply confused by the characterization of a journalist as a “free speech advocate.” For the better part of two centuries in the United States, the American people understood the occupation of “journalist” to be inherently that of a free speech advocate.
Not so anymore. Now many—if not the majority—of journalists apparently see themselves as guardians of orthodoxy about a range of social and political issues. They no longer regard the press as a check and balance of state power, but as a protector of power invested in certain parties, interests, and ideologies.
Not only is the former Rolling Stone reporter, Matt Taibbi, a journalist in the traditional sense of the occupation, he has also become our nation’s foremost advocate of free speech.
About a month ago he had an extraordinary conversation with Jan Jekielek at the Epoch Times in which he expressed his perplexity about leading members of the Democratic Party and many journalists apparently being perfectly comfortable with discarding the First Amendment.
Mr. Taibbi and I are exactly the same age and we both spent much of our adult lives living abroad, which may have given us both a greater appreciation of the U.S. Constitution.
Like him, I am dumbfounded that so many people and institutions in the public forum no longer seem to understand our care about free speech—the keystone of a liberal democracy, without which tyranny is almost certain to follow. I strongly recommend listing to this interview (click on image below).
Legacy corporate media is now little more than toxic politicized trash worthy only of our disdain, and none of our time.
Dear Mr. Leake,
I am a journalist working in the MSM. Your statements reflect my experience in the newsroom.
I was silenced at work by my executive editor.
I was silenced in my town, on the public listserv.
I was silenced on social media...32 times.
I was silenced in my home. My partner refuses to discuss anything shot-oriented.
I was silenced in my therapy sessions. I almost hung myself in Sept. 22, so I have two therapists. They both refuse to believe anything I say about the shots.
I am done being just a journalist. It's time to take the gloves off and stop adding more to the cloud. It's time to go after them any way we can.
I am organizing a group of 40 journalists to file a class action lawsuit against the MSM. Interested? I will be forming a non-profit institute and beginning this effort very soon. Let me know if you want to enter the arena, and if you know other journalists who would be interested.
Thanks! I'm a novelist too, so I can identify with your work more than most.
Doc Pruyne