A.P. CHIEF WARNS OF EROSION OF FREEDOMS

The head of the Associated Press warned Thursday that since the 2001 terrorist attacks, press freedoms and other constitutional safeguards have steadily given way to "expediency." In remarks prepared for the annual dinner of the Radio and TV News Directors Foundation, A.P. President and CEO Tom Curley warned that at a time when Congress fails to exercise oversight over the executive branch and when the executive branch fails to exercise oversight over the military, when the Justice Department interprets laws to extend police powers and when prisons are established abroad to circumvent due process -- "It's at moments like these when a free press matters most." Curley's remarks came as he accepted the foundation's First Amendment Leadership Award.

07/03/2008