United States

UNITED STATES WHEREAS • Pentagon restrictions hampered access and the media's ability to gather information during the Gulf War • media representatives are meetng with Defense Secretary Dick Cheney to develop ground rules for coverage of future military operations • the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press notes no let-up since 4,408 subpoenas were served on 1,042 news organizations in 1989 • the Libel Defense Resource Center reports the average damage award against media defendants has increased ten-fold • December lS is the bicentenary of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution THE 47th GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES • to endorse efforts of the U.S. media executives to assure independent reporting • to inform Secretary Cheney that unilateral decision-making by the Pentagon about press access, as was the case in Grenada and Panama, is unacceptable • to call upon President Bush to reiterate his commitment to a free press during this bicentenary year of the First Amendment when, sadly, a 200-year-old keystone of democracy is being eroded.