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Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas & FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein at NCMR / National Conference on Media Reform

No mainstream journalist active today deserves more praise for afflicting the comfortable than White House press corp veteran, Helen Thomas.  To cite only a few of her accomplishments in over 50 years as a journalist, she was White House bureau chief for United Press International, has covered every president since Kennedy, and was the first woman to serve as an officer of the National Press Club.

Ms Thomas discusses the implications of the subpoena power being used to compel journalists to testify on behalf of the prosecution, as has just occurred with independent journalist Sarah Olson being pressured to testify in a court martial against Lt Ehren Watada - the only US officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq citing his obligations to refuse unlawful orders under internation al law.

I doubt that you have ever heard Helen Thomas speak as candidly and personally as she does here with Liz Wolf Spada, whose son Josh Wolf, an independent journalist, is being held in jail for contempt for defending our rights to a free press by refusing to divulge his sources.  Josh is approaching a record 168 days of "corecive detainment" for refusal to comply with a grand jury's demand to produce the raw footage of a demonstration that he covered.

RFS! was privileged to record and participate in this interview with Ms Thomas arranged by Free Speech TV and Free Voice Media Alliance.  Thanks to Sue Salinger and Kevin Price - interviewer and technical director, respectively - for their permissions.

The behavior of the Republican majority of the FCC over the last several years is beneath contempt.  In spite of their mendacity and manipulation, Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein have brought the ATT / Bell South merger to an historic conclusion - ATT has made a two year commitment to Net Neutrality that sets a precedent that can serve as a basis upon which legislation can be drafted in the new congress to insure net neutrality nationally.

Thanks to Brian Kahn for his permission to roll videotape while he interviewed Commisioner Adelstein for his program, Home Ground on Yellowstone Public Radio in Billings, MT.

Visit the NCMR / National Conference for Media Reform website for a full list of the speakers but Amy Goodman, Jesse Jackson, Michal McChesney, Michael Copps, Bernie Sanders, Gina Davis, Danny Glover, and Dennis Kucinich are only a few of those present to address a record convention turnout of 3500.

As part of the press corp and as a member of the video pool which insured that the dozens of workshops were documented as well as all the featured speakers, RFS! will present a selection of these panels and speakers in the coming weeks and months.  Stay tuned!