GOVERNOR SHOULD VETO LAW RESTRICTING MEDIA

The Missouri General Assembly acted Tuesday to make it a crime for news organization to identify sexual assault victims. The measure has good intentions; however, it is also inappropriate, unnecessary and reactionary. We would hope Gov. John Ashcroft, in whose hands the issue now rests, will put the brakes on this endeavor.

Let's take our contentions one at a time:

Inappropriate. By dictating what can and cannot be disseminated as news, lawmakers are clearly acting at odds with the First Amendment. Regardless of views on this particular issue, citizens should be jittery when governmental bodies impose blanket restrictions on news coverage. If this measure goes uncountered, the path may be cleared for future legislatures to enact other press restrictions. The public is not well-served by this. In addition, such a measure will inevitably be challenged in the courts, costing the taxpayers money to defend a constitutionally unstable argument.

Unnecessary. The Southeast Missourian has a policy of not reporting the names of sexual assault victims. The Associated Press, the most widely used wire service in Missouri, has a similar policy. We know of no newspaper in Missouri that routinely publishes the names of sexual assault victims. The news media have acted responsibly in this regard. So why would such a restriction gain approval? This brings us to the third point.

Reactionary. Most of this sentiment has been stirred by the publicity surrounding the alleged rape case at the Kennedy compound in Florida. At least two news organizations NBC News and The New York Times published or broadcast the name of the victim, for reasons of their own. And though Missouri newspapers have yet to publish the name, their lawmakers have formulated legislation in response to this rare instance. Ironically, a state law of this type could not have stopped these national mediums, both based in New York, from sending the information into the state. The punishment, a misdemeanor, does not fit the crime.

Again, the legislature's heart is in the right place. Lawmakers agree with the Southeast Missourian and most other news organizations that the names of sexual assault victims should not be published. However, they have grasped this novel circumstance and weighed into it with extreme measures. While we admire the legislators' "let's-do-something" zeal, we wish it would be applied to a more pressing issue.

Government should not be dictating news decision-making. Beyond that, the problem this law is meant to prevent doesn't exist in Missouri and is unlikely to. We urge Gov. Ashcroft to veto this measure.