From PERRspectives Blog, the Bush Mea Culpa Watch:

With the White House and its conservative media goose-steppers pressuring Newsweek for an apology, I thought I might help President Bush keep track of his own:

It’s not enough for wealthy corporations that their money ensures their message is heard, loudly and clearly. As Think Progress observes, Morgan Stanley and British Petroleum want to leverage their wealth to silence other voices:

Both financial services powerhouse Morgan Stanley and global energy powerhouse British Petroleum, two giants of their respective industries, recently “informed print publications that its ads must be automatically pulled from any edition containing ‘objectionable editorial coverage.’” In the case of British Petroleum, ad-accepting publications are now required to “inform BP in advance of any news text or visuals they plan to publish that directly mention the company, a competitor or the oil-and-energy industry.” These are not empty threats. As one veteran of the magazine industry put it, “magazines are not in the financial position today to buck rules from advertisers.”

A comment at the site says, “It has always been thus,” and I suppose that’s true. But in bygone days, there were real journalists who put their careers, and sometimes their lives, on the line in order to get the full story out. There were publishers who had chosen to be publishers, and who would be ashamed to knuckle under to pressure from big business or big government, unlike today’s “managers of media corporations.”

As citizens, we need to spread the word about these corporate strong-arm tactics. We can’t rely on news media, beholden to big advertisers, to do it. Don’t be deceived: the forces that try to prevent us from learning the whole truth on matters of public policy are our enemies. Their assault on our right to know deserves lots of publicity. Our outrage must become more costly to them than the truth is.