Last Updated: August 20, 1996
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RESTON, VA. - The president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors has vigorously protested government intelligence agents posing as journalists and the government recruiting reporters to serve as informers.
In a letter to John M. Deutch, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, ASNE President William B. Ketter called the practice "dangerous" and "contrary to the principle of an independent American press." He said the CIA director’s decision endangers the lives of American foreign correspondents, and urged him to reverse himself.
The text of Ketter’s letter, dated Feb. 26, follows:
"The American Society of Newspaper Editors strongly objects to your dangerous decision to allow intelligence officers to pose as journalists, and to recruit reporters to serve as informers.
"Both practices are contrary to the principle of an independent American press, and they put the lives of our foreign correspondents at serious risk.
"There can be no exceptions - even under what you or others in the security community might feel are extraordinarily rare circumstances.
"A special distinction of the American system is the complete separation of the roles of the government and the press. American newspapers and news agencies strive mightily every day to make that clear when gathering news abroad.
"The CIA practices - which we thought had ended - will certainly raise a question of doubt in the minds of some governments and people, and could jeopardize the personal safety of our foreign correspondents.
"ASNE, with nearly 900 members, represents the editors of daily newspapers in the United States and Canada. We urge you to rescind these journalists-as-spies practices immediately, and we stand ready to meet with you at any time to discuss the issue.
"Thank you for your consideration of this request, and I look forward to your reply."
Ketter is editor of the Quincy (Mass.) Patriot Ledger.
