  Grab for AP phone records very scarey  May 30, 2013 Salem News
Good, many might say. The press is too intrusive, gets the
stories wrong, is too close to its sources, is part of the
problem, hides the truth and is not needed in a world where
seemingly everyone has a cell phone and access to Twitter.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Much of what the press
does is misunderstood because of a lack of knowledge of history,
government and the role the press is supposed to play.  Indeed,
the First Amendment prohibits intrusion on a free press as a
government-protected right. There is a reason for that. The
Founding Fathers saw to it that the press would stand in the
breach between the people and a government that could, if left
unchecked, run roughshod over them. The press was envisioned
from the start as a player in the maintenance of the nation's
freedom, serving as a vital check against the powers of
government. It has, to varying degrees of success, played that
role well for 237 years.  That role doe