Pressuring the press.

• Author: Hannaford, Patrick
• Position: Freedom failure - Brief article

Press freedom is under attack across the Americas, according to the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), which held its 70 th general assembly meeting in October.

In the United States, the association cited the Obama administration policy of forbidding unauthorized contact with journalists. The group said this rule, along with the mass surveillance made public by Edward Snowden, has created a chilling effect that is "making it even more difficult for journalists to gather and report news on matters of pub he concern." Also troubling to the IAPA was the increasing number of Freedom of Information Act requests that were being denied.

The situation is far worse in many South and Central American...