A sad day for the news business

In this country, journalists are free to report the news. Because of the First Amendment, Congress, which is broadly interpreted as the whole of government, cannot suppress the press. It's a part of what makes this country strong. But not all governments afford their journalists these freedoms.\nJournalists around the world deserve freedom to report news accurately, without government interference. Only when this day comes can the citizens be comfortable that their government is operating in their best interests. \nBut censorship and threats were the reality for a British journalist who fled Zimbabwe earlier this week. According to The Associated Press, the government of the African country had threatened Joseph Winter with deportation and had broken into his Harare apartment early Sunday morning, claiming they intended only to serve him with a deportation order. \nHe was not the only one who faced this injustice. The Associated Press reported the government ordered a second journalist, Mercedes Sayagues, deported. She has moved from her Harare apartment to a friend's home with her 8-year-old daughter. Winter and Sayagues, a correspondent for South Africa's weekly newspaper the Mail and Guardian, were ordered to leave the country within 24 hours Saturday. A High Court judge delayed their deportation until Friday to allow them more time to make personal arrangements, the Associated Press reported. \nWinter and his family left the country Monday. \nThe expulsions came amid growing threats against independent journalists in Zimbabwe. \nThe expulsions had to do with the government's fear of independent journalists. Last month, a powerful explosion wrecked the printing presses of Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper, The Daily News. The paper continued publishing without interruption. No one has been arrested in the bombing. \nBut, the Associated Press reported, the blast came after Information Minister Jonathan Moyo described the paper as a threat to national security and ruling party militants set fire to copies in the streets. It sounds like the stuff of a revolution, or at the very least the actions of a highly corrupt government. \nThe government must not hinder the freedoms of the press. Furthermore, it has no business whatsoever getting in the faces of independent journalists. But, that is what has happened and it's expected to get worse. Moyo has announced plans to cancel the accreditation of all local and foreign journalists and release new regulations covering media accreditation. \nIf he does that, the press can naturally expect to lose its freedoms. If the government mandates how the news media must behave, then it's not inconceivable the news media will become a public relations arm of the government. That's obviously a dangerous step, because part of the press's responsibility is to be a check for the government. \nBut the government is defending itself. Government officials maintain Winter's work permit had not been correctly processed. Moyo told reporters the permit might have been forged by an official colluding with Winter, but Winter and the BBC said the permit was extended until next February after he submitted a routine application to Moyo's department. \nZimbabwe has been rocked by violence during the past year as ruling party militants occupied white-owned farms with President Robert Mugabe's consent. Mugabe's supporters have threatened violence against those who oppose the government, including judges, according to the Associated Press. This instability has crippled the economy, scared away foreign investors and drawn scathing criticism from the international community.\nThe news media are not perfect. That doesn't change the reality that they serve a vital function of being a check on the government and link between the people and the government. By expelling journalists, the government of Zimbabwe has essentially separated itself from the responsibility of its actions. Who will hold the government accountable? Citizens cannot be expected to function as the press.\nThe voice of the press can't be hushed. If it is, the voice of the people has been silenced.