Cal Thomas Ponders 'Voluntary' Censorship on War Coverage

By: Dave Astor Cal Thomas, in a May 22 appearance on TV's "Fox News Watch," said he might favor media censorship in coverage of the Iraq war. But the columnist told E&P today that he didn't want censorship imposed by authorities outside the press.

"I think, like in World War II, it should be voluntary -- but with strong government and citizen disapproval if it were violated," said Thomas, whose client list of more than 570 newspapers makes him the most widely syndicated op-ed columnist in America. He said any censorship program should be overseen by a professional journalist.

Why does he feel voluntary censorship could be desirable? "I worry that some of the reporting and pictures are giving the enemy a false impression concerning American resolve and thus could add to more of our troops getting killed and bolder attacks inside the U.S.," said the Tribune Media Services writer. He added: "If the media discovered some operational plans taken by the government to capture terrorists or thwart certain acts, should they be allowed to publish and broadcast them? I don't think so, if the objective is to win this war."

Thomas said voluntary censorship "might force some in the media who believe anything they know or can find out is deserving of publication to realize that not everything is -- and to focus on their responsibilities as citizens as well as their privileges as journalists, which in my view, are linked."

The columnist emphasized that he sees possible media restrictions as a "rare" thing. "I am uncomfortable with citizens who want to censor the press from carrying ideas they don't like," Thomas said. "Once the threat has passed, so would the voluntary censorship."

When asked if censorship might happen, Thomas said he doesn't think so -- "unless things get much worse, or the press oversteps and publishes something truly outrageous, like an operational plan for going after these people."

E&P today read Thomas' remarks to Mac McKerral, national president of the Society of Professional Journalists. His response: "My position -- and I think SPJ's -- is that the media already operates with a large amount of restraint with regard to war coverage. Decisions are made on a routine basis to make sure coverage is done in a way that doesn't [jeopardize] military operations and put people at risk."

McKerral added that decisions are even more complex because the media is covering what many people consider to be two separate wars -- "the WAR war, and the war on terrorism."

Many media outlets cover the grim reality of fighting in Iraq in an "antiseptic" way, McKerral continued, while adding that self-censorship is not necessarily the reason. The SPJ president said reasons could instead involve not having enough people in Iraq and the risks of reporting in such a dangerous area.