Heading toward a US Press Freedom Recession?

During the worst US recession since the Great Depression, the least the country needs is a press freedom recession.

We are not there yet, but a streak of bad news is raising fears that this most crucial right could be under siege. To a recent influential court decision, we need to add this new outrageous example of wanton disregard for a most sacred American tradition.

The city of Deltona, in the state of Florida, passed a proposal to use taxpayer money to pay for legal fees incurred by public officials who sue for criminal defamation charges.

And the city is up in arms about the ludicrous notion that taxpayers are supposed to pick up the tab resulting from its public officials misdeeds or that they won't be able to keep them accountable.

The Orlando Sentinel:

"These are my tax dollars," said Nancy Schleicher, chairman of Deltona Citizens Action Committee, a government watchdog group. "I pay my personal property taxes for things that are going to improve my city. To pay for litigation, that's a personal thing."

The motion, which passed by a vote of 4-3 late Monday, was proposed by Mayor Dennis Mulder, who said that an organized group of residents has ventured from the usual political mudslinging and is spreading outright lies that must be stopped. Mulder threatened to resign if his motion wasn't approved.

One Web site has accused Mulder of being a habitual marijuana user, criminally corrupt and a "weird rodent immune to reason." Vice Mayor Michael Carmolingo and commissioners Janet Deyette and Paul Treusch, who often vote with the mayor, have also been subjected to political jabs.

Mulder, who denies all of the allegations, said Friday that it wasn't intended to suppress public disapproval of government officials.

"It has nothing to do with criticism or political satire," he said. "You start accusing people of criminal acts and that gets out into the community. It does a lot of damage to the sanctity of the office and the community.

All this may sound a little too comical. But there is nothing funny about the fact that in the land that practically invented both the notion of press freedom and the concept of keeping public officials accountable through a free and independent press this kind of huge step backwards is taking place.

Press freedom is under siege in most parts of the world. The least we could afford right now is an attacked from the rear.