Any Limits?

By Harvey Tobkes

The New York Times has been making news instead of writing it. The elite newspaper’s most recent indiscretion was disclosing the government’s efforts to track international financial transactions. This information was probably of immense value to terrorists and had no relationship to individual privacy, so why disclose it? Are we at war or aren’t we? Does the fact that insurgents and terrorists do not wear conventional uniforms, make them any less of an enemy?

Let me offer this… If during World War II, The New York Times had advance information about the allies invading France, would it be O.K. for them to publish the exact date, time and landing points? You cannot holler “Fire” in a crowded movie and claim Freedom of Speech, and similarly you should not be allowed to print information to help our enemy during time of war and claim Freedom of the Press.

The once revered newspaper whose slogan, "All the news that's fit to print," seems to be in desperate straits now, losing many readers to computers, T.V. and other electronic sources. They will strangle themselves if they keep this up, because someday one of their harmful articles may have conseqences (perhaps even be the cause a major catastrophic event) and that will damage us more than it will them.