Behind the Homefront

A daily chronicle of news in homeland security and military operations affecting newsgathering, access to information and the public's right to know.

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On Jan. 24, 2003, a new law enforcement and investigatory agency whose duties include functions taken from as many as 22 other federal agencies came into existence. The reorganization of these operations reportedly marks the biggest government bureaucratic shake-up since the creation of the Department of Defense half a century ago.
Even before the new Department of Homeland Security opened its doors, controversies arose over not just how it would operate and exercise its powers, but what level of access to information it would allow, and how it would respond to news media requests. Will new exemptions be carved out of the FOI Act, either by law or by practice? Will officials and agents feel free to tap phones of journalists, or subpoena their records during investigations? Will the new director consider procedural safeguards, like those adopted years ago by the Department of Justice, to ensure that freedom of the press will not be denied? And will those practices be followed?

But "homeland" security is not the only concern for journalists covering anti-terrorism initiatives; military actions abroad often present a greater challenge, as questions over disclosure of information, access to troops, and restraints on reporting seem to resurface anew with each conflict.

Questions and issues like these led the Reporters Committee to launch this "weblog," so that there will be a centralized site on the Internet for journalists who want to follow these issues and pass along information they learn while covering — or worse, being covered by — the new department and other anti-terrorism actions. Please submit comments and pass along tips to make this project as useful, thorough and up-to-date as possible.

A few words about what this project will not do. We do not intend to cover many of the issues that will undoubtedly come up as the Department takes shape, even if those issues are the ones generating headlines. We will cover information access and free press issues, but will not follow debates over many civil liberties issues that, while important, are outside of our domain.

Funding for the launch of this site was provided by The Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation.

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May. 28, 2003

REPORT ON HOTEL ATTACK RELEASED The Committee to Protect Journalists released a report yesterday on the April 8 shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad by U.S. forces, which killed two journalists and wounded three others. The report, based on interviews with journalists at the scene of the tragedy, suggests that the attack was avoidable, though not deliberate. An article on the report in today's New York Times said the United States Central Command is still investigating the incident.

— Posted at 5:41 pm [link]

Apr. 25, 2003

POWELL DEFENDS PALESTINE HOTEL ATTACK. The New York Times reports today that Secretary of State Colin Powell "has written to Spain's foreign minister defending the decision by U.S. troops to open fire on a hotel in Baghdad used as a base for foreign journalists." On April 8, two journalists were killed, a Spanish television network cameraman and a Ukrainian cameraman working for Reuters, and four others were injured when a U.S. tank fired on the Palestine Hotel. "Our review of the April 8 incident indicates that the use of force was justified and the amount of force was proportionate to the threat against United States forces," Powell's April 21 letter said.

— Posted at 5:18 pm [link]

Apr. 8, 2003

DEATHS OF JOURNALISTS PROMPT PROTESTS. The deaths today of more journalists in Baghdad prompted protests and allegations that the journalists were being targetted. A U.S. tank fired a round at the Palestine Hotel, where many foreign journalists are staying, and a U.S. bomb hit the building that houses the al-Jazeera correspondents. Cameramen from Reuters and a Spanish television network were killed in the hotel shelling, while the al-Jazeera strike killed a cameraman for the network. The military said that the decision to fire on the Palestine Hotel was made by a tactical commander on the ground, and that the journalists "bore some responsibility for their own deaths because they continued working in Baghdad even after U.S. officials warned them in the days leading up to the war they should pull out for their own safety", according to The Washington Post.

The French group Reporters Without Borders accused the U.S. military of "deliberately firing at journalists," according to a press release issued by the group. The group's spokesman said that the evidence "does not match the US version of an attack in self-defence and we can only conclude that the US Army deliberately and without warning targeted journalists. US forces must prove that the incident was not a deliberate attack to dissuade or prevent journalists from continuing to report on what is happening in Baghdad," he said.

Meanwhile, The World Association of Newspapers and World Editors Forum have asked President Bush in a letter to ensure that "a full and frank investigation" is carried out into the death of British journalist Terry Lloyd, who was apparently killed by coalition forces last week while traveling in a marked news media vehicle.

— Posted at 5:18 pm [link]

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