APPENDIX II-BB Letters The Committee on the Judiciary received a number of letters concerning the hearings entitled "1984: Civil Liberties and the National Security State." The following is a selection of letters, reprinted with permission. November 4, 1983 U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Gentlemen: I recently observed David Brinkley, John Chancellor and others appear before your Committee to present their case against President Reagan's decision not to have the TV and press with the Grenada invading troops. The reasons they gave appear very shallow and self-seeking to me. The idea that every important event must be accompanied by TV cameras is stupid. We Americans are tired of TV telling us what we should be doing and how we should feel about the important events in our lives. In my opinion the TV people should stick to reporting the news, not managing it as they now seem to try to do. As a parent of a student attending St. Georges University School of Medicine, I wholeheartedly support the action of our President. His decision not to allow the TV along, in my opinion, was wise and just. The American people are not crying out that they were deprived of TV coverage, only the networks and their eternal battle for Nielson ratings and thus ability to charge advertisers more and more money seem to care. The American public is contantly bombarded every evening from 5 P.M. to the wee hours of the morning with TV news. Not to mention early in the morning until about 8:30 A.M. We could do with a lot less coverage. Respectfully, Thomas J. Roche, Jr. Brookside, N.J. 07926 Montgomery Hollow The Hon. Robert W. Kastenmeier Dear Rep. Kastenmeier: I was very encouraged and relieved to learn that the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties and the Administration of Justice will soon begin hearings on the relationships between civil liberties and the so-called "national security state." The current Administration's passion for secrecy in government -- demonstrated in its new dragnet liedetector policy, its government-employee censorship order, and most recently its control of press coverage of the Grenada invasion - makes these hearings terribly important. I fear the growth of governmental secrecy more than I do any other national or international threat including thermonuclear war. Neither the Soviet nor the American government wants atomic war -- but both very much want more government secrecy; and this is very, very frightening. CC: The Hon. Sherwood Boehlert The Hon. Jack Brooks Yours truly, Jolin John Hendry The Hon. Daniel Patrick Moynihan Hendry 305 Maxwell Lane Hon. Robert W. KastenmeieJakey Dear Sir, I have read accounts of the hearings being held by your subcommittee into the conflict between the need for information and national security. In particular, I have noticed that tesimony being reported in the newspaper articles has been by the news media and professionals. I am enclosing for your information, a copy of my letter to National Broadcasting Company dated October 27, 1983 following the rescue mission on Granada and following Mr. Chancellor's commentary on the NBC Evening News on October 26, 1983. I believe the feelings expressed in my letter represent those of a great number of the private citizens in the United States of America concerning the attitude and lack of responsible behavior by the news media in general and the TV Networks in particular. I trust that your hearings will be thorough and representative of the best interests of this country as a whole rather than that of any special business or political pressure group. Very truly yours, Ralph & Bradway Ralph D. Bradway RDB/jb After watching your NBC News at 6:30 PM Wednesday, October 26, 1983, I find myself compelled to expresss to you as head of NBC my deepest feelings of dismay at the low levels of professionalism your news programming has achieved. Mr. Chancellor's commentary was a disgrace to you and to all honest journalism. His vitriolic attack and tirade against the President of the United States and the U.S. Government was not only uncalled for but entirely out of order. The hate that prompted his comment-ary was evident in his eyes and his posture during his presentation. Apparently Mr. Chancellor believes that he and others of the news media are over and above everyone else and should be subject to no control whatsoever and can attack anything or anybody with which they disagree. I deplore that the philosophy of anticipating, shaping and controlling news has replaced the reporting of news as the standard for American journalism. It would be refreshing to see a return to a higher standard of conduct. Until then, I and others with whom I have discussed this will no longer be watching NBC News. Very truly yours, Ralph D. Bradway Ralph D. Bradway cc Mr. Robert Mulholland, President Mr. Reuben Frank, NBC News |