Curtailing press freedoms

Last week, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said his office will no longer deal with the Arkansas Times because he says the newspaper is not "a legitimate news organization." He removed its reporters from lists through which they received press releases, press conference notifications, etc., and Huckabee's staff won't talk to Times reporters or answer their emails.

His action has received a lot of national attention, including write-ups in U.S. News and World Report, the New Republic, Columbia Journalism Review and several widely-read blogs (Atrios named Huckabee "Wanker of the Day" yesterday). UPDATE: The political blog Wonkette added an item about the situation today.

In response, Huckabee defended his action in a long essay posted yesterday on his government website. Arkansas Times editor Max Brantley answered it here.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which is the state's largest and only statewide daily newspaper, today criticized Huckabee's action in its editorial.

When a government official can decide which news organizations are "legitimate" and thereby deserving of basic, publicly-funded information services, everyone's press freedoms are threatened.