Is Press Freedom a Casualty of War on Terror?

By: E&P Staff Looking at the world after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, David Dadge, in his new book "Casualty of War" (Prometheus Books) addresses what he calls two fundamental questions: Did the Bush administration attempt to pressure the media? and, What has been the wider impact of the war on terrorism on press freedom around the world?

Dadge is well-positioned to examine the global impact, at least, as editor at the International Press Institute (IPI), based in Vienna, Austria. IPI, founded in 1952, says it has members drawn from journalists and executives in over 100 countries. He also produces a section called "IPI Report" for the IPI Global Journalist magazine published by the Missouri School of Journalism.

Dadge says the idea for the book came from his realization that the impact of 9/11 and the war on terror extended far beyond the U.S. and possibly endangered global press freedom.

Citing a statement by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan that "a fiery voice of liberty in one country can raise the spirits of another far away," Dadge asks whether the "fiery voice" of the U.S. has been replaced by an all-consuming drive for security. He concludes the book calling on the U.S. and other countries to never forget the importance of press freedom: "In the overwhelming desire to bring the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks to justice, the need to hear opposing views has been forgotten, and the media have borne the brunt of this act of forgetting. Indeed, the media have been attacked for reminding everyone that there is more than one side to the argument."