If you thought that S. 448, the Free Flow of Information Act was important before, it should be even more important now.   What with the White House refusing to allow The Fox News Network in the news pool to interview Pay Czar Kennet Feinberg.
 
"There was an announcement by the Administration that they were putting out the pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg as we showed you earlier, for the White House pool, they sent out a message for the White House pool that Feinberg would be doing a round robin interviews with the 5 network pool that covers the White House ….Fox News has been a member since 1997, when they put out that message they specified that all members of the pool were welcome except Fox”, according to New Fox News' Brett Baier.  To their credit, the 5 networks view the White House’s action as a threat to the First Amendment and collectively protested, prompting the White House to rescind its mandate.

Then there is the threat to Insurance companies and even the US Chamber of Commerce for their opposition to the administration’s policies.  Or what about the dubious guidelines released by the Federal Trade Commission aimed at supporting mainstream media, otherwise known as lap dogs, and punishing independent bloggers.  Not to mention  Speaker Pelosi’s Shut Up version of the bill, which adds severe restrictions, such as this one:

“for a substantial portion of the person’s livelihood or for substantial financial gain and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such covered person.”

In essence, if journalism is independent,  a hobby or a public service passion, or a freelancer without a boss or a blogger, then the government reserves the right to force you to tell them where you got any information.  For instance, the White House considers Fox News Network to not be real journalism and more “talk show”.

More than ever, what is needed is an independent press and not merely lap dogs.

So just because people are not talking openly about the Free Flow of Information Act, that does not mean you cannot.  In fact, it is even more important than ever.  If you feel strongly about a federal shield law, we encourage you to call and write the Obama administration and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

To contact the White House directly, click here.  If you want to contact the Committee members, visit the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Web site for their contact information.  Extremely important that you have it your way when it comes to the federal shield law.  Ask the U.S. Senate Committee members not to include Speaker Pelosi’s Shut Up version in the final bill.