Journalists banned from a press conference

[Gromovnik]

So the White house has some original ideas about freedom of the press: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_0...s-Moscow-9829/
Here's a question: is such practise acceptable? Especially from someone who is constantly preaching to other countries about freedom of the press? Is this the logical evolution in the world of "embedded journalists"? Is it OK to censor journalist that you don't like?
P.S. this thread is about media freedoms, it has nothing to do with other recent political developments.

[Lord of Nihilism]

Governments will only allow reporters to release information that benefits them; this is nothing new and has persisted and always will persist. Of course you have varying factors into this "freedom of the press" as you call it but ultimately, if you have information that hurts the Government you belong to, they will hinder you, or outright restrict you from releasing the information.

I personally don't care since news sites/news presses run an agenda 99% of the time, thus you can't really take anything they say at face value.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Oh boo freaking hoo. Russian "journos" banned from what wasn't so much a press conference but a careful orchestrated photo op to demonstrate the US' support for Ukraine.

When Russian has its own genuine freedom of the press, stops arresting political activists, repeals the anti-gay laws, and pretty much stops acting as the douchebag of Europe, then it can complain about having a few journos barred from a single event.

[Garbarsardar]

Hey, at least Voice of Russia is free to report the news concerning the ban on Russian journalists from one press conference. On the other hand...

And least we forget:

The right to freedom of expression was increasingly restricted. Most media remained under effective state control, except for some outlets with limited circulation. Prime-time national television was regularly employed to smear government critics.

Libel was re-criminalized, eight months after its decriminalization. Changes to the Criminal Code expanded the definitions of treason and espionage and made them vaguer by including sharing information with, or providing miscellaneous assistance to, foreign states and organizations whose activity is “directed against security of the Russian Federation”.

New legislation gave the government powers to blacklist and block websites publishing materials considered “extremist” or otherwise harmful to public health, morals or safety. By the end of the year, this legislation was already being used to shut down sites publishing content protected by the right to freedom of expression.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Somebody give Garb some rep on my behalf please!

[knight of meh]

Somebody give Garb some rep on my behalf please!

it was well deserved ^^

[Yuko]

Somebody give Garb some rep on my behalf please!

Done!

[Roma_Victrix]

Somebody give Garb some rep on my behalf please!

Consider it done. It provides a nice juxtaposition with the OP.

[Sir Winston Churchill]

Earlier this year....

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/m...d-from-russia/

[sabaku_no_gaara]

So the White house has some original ideas about freedom of the press: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_0...s-Moscow-9829/
Here's a question: is such practise acceptable? Especially from someone who is constantly preaching to other countries about freedom of the press? Is this the logical evolution in the world of "embedded journalists"? Is it OK to censor journalist that you don't like?
P.S. this thread is about media freedoms, it has nothing to do with other recent political developments.

looks at source:

"the voice of russia"

[mishkin]

The White House has given any explanation? (just to see what is the other "official" side of the story)

[sleepyx732]

Russian journalist gets banned
Source from Russia
????
Obvious bias?

[Sir Adrian]

Trusting Voice of Russia on anything is like trusting Gobbels in 1945 when he said the Germany will win the war.

That being said the US did fall below Romania in terms of freedom of the press, and most of our press belongs this or that political party leader or one of his freinds (and all party leaders are in Kondiakov's or the CIA's pocket)

[YuriVII]

I don't see the outrage here. You cant fit every journalist into a press conference. Freedom of Press isn't effected, though it would've been interesting to hear their questions and how they would have been responded to.

[General Mosh]

I'm gonna have to see something other than Voice of Russia before I give any credence to the suggestion that it was done solely to protect the President from undesirable questions, especially when there are plenty of American journalists who will ask the same undesirable questions, ranging from liberals who oppose anything that looks remotely like it could lead to war to Fox who opposes the President on anything that can possibly be twisted to make him look bad, in this case trying to make him look soft on foreign policy.

[Count of Montesano]

I think there are some fair questions to raise about how presidents for decades now have been playing favorites in the press corps and limiting access to certain news organizations over others. That being said, I'm betting Russian journalists have a lot more access to American government than vice versa.

[Gaidin]

Here's a question: is such practise acceptable?

Is it in any way preventing said journalists from publishing what they want to say about and in America? If not, then yes, it is acceptable. As Zoidberg pointed out it wasn't a press conference so much as a carefully orchestrated photo op to demonstrate the United States' support for Ukraine. That means the Russian journalists are playing their part to a T, ironically. They should've just shrugged, kept their mouth shut, and come back in at the next actual press conference.