NY Times’ Jill Abramson: National Security Reporting ‘Being Criminalized’ by Obama Admin.

New York Times editor Jill Abramson has been rather vocal recently in her criticisms of the “secretive” Obama administration, and now she’s saying the current White House’s whistleblower crackdown means that national security reporting is “effectively being criminalized.”

According to POLITICO, Abramson was speaking on a panel at Columbia University about national security reporting in an era where whistleblowers are aggressively pursued by the White House. Abramson didn’t hold back in painting a bleak picture for journalism in this environment.

“This seems to be, if not a stated policy, a reality where journalism about sensitive national security issues, that I see as vitality in the public interest, is effectively being criminalized, and a real freeze is setting in to what had been up to this point a healthy discourse between sources and journalists.”

She also said at the event, “Journalists are saying, ‘I will go to jail to protect your identity.’ These words are now being uttered.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney adamantly denied Abramson’s “secretive” claim earlier this week, insisting the White House provides “an extraordinary amount of information and access to reporters.”

[h/t POLITICO]

[photo via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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