Very good points, Maureen. Considering the ads I've seen and the comments on TV shows with agendas and money to make, maybe politicians do this to each other as much as journalists do. Politicians can refute lies and defend truth. Reporters can only report. And I should research, or someone should, why SPJ says a code with teeth is against the First Amendment.

Off-week Question

Jones writes about the complicated history of the First Amendment in chapter three. While he says America's press freedoms have often, if not always, been curtailed in wartime, what dangers--if any--do you see in the limitations placed on the current Freedom of Information Act (restricting  information that can be printed about the government or the Patriot Act)? If the Taliban or Islamic extremists threaten us--and they do--should government have the right to restrict (classify) information or otherwise control ("embedding" journalists, holding secret meetings, denying what is true) what journalists can know in order to inform us?

Also, how aware do you think people are today about Watergate and the newspaper that forced a president's resignation? This might have a bearing on how you answer the above question.