the correct answer to the gps challenge question. "d," she graduated from oxford with a degree in chemistry and went on to work in the field for a few years. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. stay tuned for "reliable sources." three months after the newtown tragedy dominated the news, the story slipping on to the back burner until president obama. >> crazy the americans who kill themselves or suit others with guns is out of control. call me crazy. >> you look at these images and you look at the fact that 92% of americans believe that criminals should have background checks before they're able to buy guns. you look at the president talking there and it's, it's really hard to figure what what the political calculation is.

>> but with the senate breaking a republican filibuster this week, is the press rooting for the white house to win on this emotional issue? congressman steve cohn tells me he's not embarrassed that cyndi lauper was hot, he says he was "scamming the media." >> i knew putting something out that i deleted that the press would see it and if they could read something into what was an innocent tweet about how hot cyndi lauper was as a performer, it would get the press' attention and it did, in a monster way. >> did the congressman after sparking another furor by tweeting to a long lost daughter have a point? he'll be here. speaking of twitter, anthony weiner granted anguish, rambling, excruseiating series of interviews to "new york times" magazine. plus, is there a war on government whistleblowers? >> i ultimately chose, a made a

decision to go to the press. so i shared what was unclassified. anonymously about -- >> the obama administration has been extremely aggressive in trying to root out whistleblowers within the government. >> we'll talk to a filmmaker who says the obama administration is having a chilling effect on the press. i'm howard kurtz and this is "reliable sources." the coverage of gun control was starting to fade a bit that a filibuster would block any vote in the senate. an emotional speech by president obama after he met with some of the newtown family. >> connecticut, this is not about me. this is not about politics. this is about doing the right

thing for all the families who are here that have been torn apart by gun violence. >> vice president biden kept the issue in the news with an appearance on msnbc's "morning joe." >> the one thing the nra has done so well lately is the disinformation. we used the word registration. there is no registration in america. they, obviously, haven't done that good of a job at it because only 7% of americans oppose universal background checks. >> but some conservative commentators have a very different view. >> this is the problem with the gun control discussion. if you disagree with a liberal on gun control, they say you want more dead kids. >> when two senators reached a bipartisan compromise on stricter background checks for gun purchases and the gop filibuster failed, the stories were generally positive. are the media taking sides here? joining me now, nia malika

henderson, amy holmmes and ana marie cox, political columnist for "the guardian." ana marie are the media and their enthusiasm overstating the degree of progress? >> i'm not sure because so little progress has been made. let's think about this. a vote to filibuster was overcome. the fact that counts as a success is a sad commentary on how little progress has been made on any gun control or gun legislation at all. the nra has had an effective lock on congress. they're still threatening to grade senators on any vote going forward on amendments. and senators and congressmen run scared from the nra. that's the problem with this debate. not so much that, you know, individuals in the media are misinformed about guns, some people are, or congress want a registration, although some might. the way we debate this has been hijacked by this powerful group

that doesn't represent that many americans. >> with the focus on the filibusters, i think there is this kind of feeling in the press that let's at least have a vote, that filibusters are bad because they're blocking action. is that fair, or unfair? >> i think there's a feeling in the press. right? so, gallup just came out with a survey on friday and found that only 4% of americans rate gun control as their top issue right alongside of north korea. what i think is fascinating about this debate is how much is being driven by the white house and that the media is taking their cues from the white house that this is the issue to be focusing on. >> hold on. isn't a lot of it being driven by the emotional aftershocks of what happened in that school in connecticut? >> certainly, howie. absolutely, those families are enormously sympathetic and there is a family member in the newtown victims who was not invited on "60 minutes" last weekend for the very emotional plea because he opposes gun control measures or further gun

control measures. >> nia malika henderson, those who want congress to act, they were on the hill and that has given, to me, the press a fresh story line. a very emotional one, as well. >> they were in "people" magazine and "60 minutes." these are amazing and remarkable stories and they're always so moving. so, i think the press has a switch into focus on it because there was a story line, right, that everything had flagged. maybe obama a waited too late and he wasn't able to ride that emotional roller coaster and things had stalled on capitol hill. i think one of the tricky things is we don't know what's happening behind closed doors between reid and all the other senators. i think what we had over these last couple of weeks was this band of republicans five, six, seven and ended up being 12 afraid they would filibuster, but, guess what, that's not

enough to filibuster. the this idea all of a sudden they're going to block it. >> know the president's own gun control agenda had been widdled down to we're only speaking about background checks and yet the press is championing this as a big gun control victory. >> i think that's a great point. this is something, what are we willing to call a victory? again, so little that has changed. i don't want to say progress. but there's been so little that changed in gun control or gun regulation that, again, just defeating the filibuster counted as a victory. >> instead of saying, here are the things you're not getting, you're not getting assault weapons ban and not getting magazines. >> i read every article. >> look at the families of the victims and say, you lost. that's the thing. hard to say this was a loss and to look at those families coming out of congress. >> it's been 20 years since any gun control measures have been debated on on the hill.

only eight gun control measures at the federal level. >> at the same time, it's possible that nothing will happen at the end and no one will call out a victory. what's interesting, two senators, joe manchin and pat toomey who came together for this compromise on background checks to imply to gun shows and online sales and they've been getting very favorable press. you could say, well, it's bipartisan. the press loves bipartisanship, right? >> they do. what i have found fascinating is that the press has created the sort of the heroes and the villains. the heros are the gun control advocates and the villain is the nra and also in the category or should be placed in the category the senate democrats that have been opposing stricter gun control measures. the senate majority leader, harry reid, said assault weapons ban was going no where. he has been delaying debate on this. >> so, you're saying that senate democrats are getting a pass in the press? >> i believe they are. >> i think they are, too. >> everyone has talked about the senate democrats who were running for office in these red

states and how they might be holding this up, too. >> lost in the debate of the filibuster and the senate democrats and all those senate democrats that have a plus ratings from the nra, matter of fact. >> well -- >> look at every segment i have participated in or have heard about. on tv, everyone talks about the senate democrats and how they're as big -- >> i don't want to get too deep into the weeds here. collision of such an emotional issue and at the same time the way capitol hill can be so much like watching molasses pour. minority leader mitch mcconnell and louisville was secretly taped and leaked who got the mitt romney 47% video during the campaign. and in that strategy session mcconnell and his aides talked abo about judd who will challenge him in the next race. mental health problems and reporter asked the senator about this at a news conference.

>> is it fair game for you to question someone's mental health or their religious sensibilities in a strategy session like that? >> as i indicated, last month they were attacking my wife's ethnicity. and then, apparently, unbeknownst to us at the time, they were bugging our headquarters. quite a nixonian move. >> he ducked the question whether it is appropriate to be talk about it. the initial press coverage was the outrage for these strategists to be sort of talking about negative information on ashley judd and kind of glossing over the fact initially that this meeting was viciously taped. >> perhaps. i think this is the case of the journalist. you can have your cake and eat it, too. interesting to cover the strategy session. we don't get an ear in these strategy sessions very often. strategy sessions are very often like this and more taped and released. also true there was sketchy stuff going on and how it was

released. >> putting it polightly. >> and illegal. >> if it's illegal -- >> mcconnell was right, his enemy as are out to get him. liberal group called progress kentucky. >> a local democrat says two people from progress, kentucky, one of the people from that group resigned admitting to taping this from a hallway or door that was partially open. this was a bugging operation. >> indeed, it was. >> it totally got glossed over. we're not glossing over it. "reliable sources." >> what was interesting, the gentleman who resigned from progress, kentucky, was, himself, a journalist. and he was fired because of his activism, you know, sort of bleeding into his journalistic work. >> at the same time, it seemed to me mcconnell got barbecued for even talking in a private session about how he might go over ashley judd, who, by the way, is not running. not like these discussions don't go on in every campaign.

unless he does something, is it fair game? >> you know, i didn't think that what we heard in those tapes was very surprising. i mean, we know what ashley judd's problematic history has been for running in that state. >> so, i don't, i don't in terms of, i mean, this is politics. it's a dirty business in some ways. mcconnell is very much known for running the scorched earth campaigns. $12 million to do it this go around. in terms of the bugging, you know, i think there's going to be some questions about whether or not it's actually legal or illegal. >> you want to show the cnn green room, that will be good. >> now you talk about dirty business. let me get a break. when we come back, marco rubio appears on seven shows this sunday morning. a look at that in just a moment. . raises it to a more meaningful place. makes us live what we do, love what we do

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senator marco rubio on cbs, abc, nbc, telemundo and univision talking about the legislation he is involved with and this subject came up. >> can the nominee of the republican party in 2016 be a champion for an immigration reform policy that provides a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants in this country? >> do you think this would help or hurt marco rubio, if he perhaps ran for president in 2016? >> senator, you clearly are at

least considering running for president in 2016. isn't this, whether it's the budget -- >> pardon? >> what were you going to say, sir? >> says who? >> who says i'm considering that? >> the media practically nominating marco rubio in 2016 gop primary? >> he's sort of nominating himself. neither is hillary clinton. neither is -- almost every senator, right, wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror and he's someone who can be president and that's just the reality. he's very much out there. i think the trick for him, he's possibly running for president for four years. that's a really long time. >> but there were a series a of substitive serious questions about immigration reform and whether this can be pass and whether this will divide the republican party. so, in that sense, the president is doing his job. >> a really a dumb question because republicans already nominated john mccain who

favored comprehensive immigration reform. this is not news to the republican party. >> you're saying, you're saying it is dum -- >> the party nominated in 2012 somebody who said immigrants should self-deport and, obviously, has some problem with the spanish voters. >> because he was having a problem with the right of the party and he chose that, that policy position to try to, you know, engender good will with the right of the party. what i thought was interesting is that maybe marco rubio is making doing a full ginsburg reputable. used to be you do all the sunday shows -- >> lawyer did all the sunday shows. >> we now have to call it the full marco. >> doing all the sunday shows is like baseball statistics in the age of steroids. ginsburg went to every single studio. >> i was watching and he would have a drink of water, famously

and banter and do nranother interview. >> i have to say, i hope amy is right, this issue is over in the republican party. it's no longer controversial. >> we'll get to that next week. >> do the shows for a good reason and not a substantive one. >> there is a promo that has been running on msnbc, but seen far more oft aen on fox news because people on fox have been taking melissa harris pardy for saying the following. >> we haven't had a collective notion that these are our children. we have to break through our private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families and kids belong to whole communities. >> she says she doesn't know what the fuss is about. challenging the notion that kids belong to their parents. kind of inflammatory language. >> inflammatory on fox. i hate to use the faculty lounge rhetoric, but she is a

professor, so maybe this is not as controversial when she's talking about it. it certainly isn't controversial for her and won't be controversial for the people who tune into her show because they agree with her. >> i know what she meant. but when you use a phrase, do kids belong to their families? >> collective. she went -- >> real buzz word in conservative circles. i know what she means. it takes a village. when i first heard, that's probably not the exact language you want to use. >> the editors, the producers, did their alarm bells go off but with that beautiful green lawn behind her -- >> very much doubled down on it. she's written to respond and expand on it. >> everyone knows who he is now. i give more power to her. i hope this is something that she discusses on her show. >> she has. yesterday. >> continues to discuss.

i mean -- >> inest therie >> interesting, back pedaled. more than meets the eye. >> you use inflammatory language to get your point into the conversation. >> her specific promo to attract attention. thanks very much for coming by this morning. up next, congressman steve cohen deletes an embarrassing tweet that cindy lyndi lauper i and just scamming the presses. he'll be here in just a moment. . you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro.

the tangled twitter tale involving tennessee congressman steve comb began around valentine's day when he sent a tweet to a 23-year-old student who works as a bikini model. >> the twitterverse was buzzing during the state of the union speech this week, but one tweet, in particular, drew quite a lot of attention. it was from congressman steve cohen reading, nice to know you were watching the state of the union. happy valentine's day. happy valentine's, beautiful girl. i love you. >> but this was not some

scandalous flirtation the woman in question was an out of wedlock daughter he discovered three weeks ago. this week the congress sent and deleted another tweet before seeing a musical performance that white house. >> he's back in the news for a tweet that he sent to singer cyndi lauper. here's the tweet, it said, great night. couldn't believe how hot you were. see you again next tuesday. try a little tenderness. >> i spoke to the congressman about this on friday and he called a news conference to explain the tantalizing tweet and steve cohen joins me fou from memphis. >> thank you, howard. >> the reason you tweeted to the world that cyndi lauper is hot and then took that tweet down is what? >> well, after the february incident i knew that a deleted tweet could get notoriety or publicity and i felt like my daughter and myself were somewhat victims in the way of absence of malice. that unknowingly the press put

us in a situation where we couldn't respond in a certain way. i thought about that movie, which i've seen, an older movie, but a great movie. so i tweeted and deleted that the tweet would get noticed. there were terms that, obviously, were pertinent to the musical performance that was seen if one wanted to in another light and the music show that is going to be on tbs -- >> i know you said you wanted to give attention to memphis music, which is big in your district, but mostly drawn attention to steve cohen and most people see this as a stunt. >> it was a ruse, i admit that. to take a riff off of cyndi lauper, congressmen just want to have fun sometimes, too. it was kind of fun. >> you seem to want to have it both ways. on the one hand you called her hot, knowing full well this would be like cat nip to the media. when asked about it, i was saying that her performance was hot. you knew how it would be read,

right? >> not really. i had read either way and kind of the ideal was to read it and think about how it was because how i will see her on tuesday and i don't know cyndi lauper and her performance was hot, the whole show was hot and describe a musical performance. jay leno brought it up to her and read the tweet and he said it's rock 'n' roll and rock 'n' roll is hot. that's the expression you use for a musical performance. >> let's go back to what happened in february with that valentine tweet to this woman victoria brinks that is a daughter you did not know you had. she is 24 years old. you, i think it's fair to say, still pretty upset maybe even angry with the way the press handled that. how are journalists supposed to know that this was your daughter? >> well, i guess thiweren't, but the fact is even if she wasn't and she was some social friend of mine, which is what they thought, i'm single. and it shouldn't make any

difference. because i'm a congressman and i am, you know, i guess chronologically challenged and fa fallcally challenged couldn't mean that i would have a younger girlfriend. although at this point in my life, 47 is younger. >> i mean, you know, look, there's a history here with members of congress not always conducting themselves in the most noble way, shall we say. here's the thing, you contributed to the problems with that story because you didn't, your office didn't explain for almost a full day that you were, in fact, related to this woman and your spokesman gave out false information initially telling the press that this woman was the daughter of a friend. you take some responsibility for the way this was misreported? >> well, i can understand it. she is the daughter of a friend. her mother is my friend and that didn't exclude me. >> oh, come on, isn't that a little misleading, congressman? >> i don't think it's misleading. just half of the story. but, nevertheless, i think that

we told some of the reporters, in particular, our hometown reporter, hey, there's nothing here at all and we told people, there is nothing here to report on. this is nothing. people wouldn't believe us. and the same thing. they just wouldn't believe it. and sometimes they should take the word of the individual who's the subject of the story when they say or their chief of staff or press person, there's nothing here. believe me, there's nothing here. >> your beef with the press and the reason you were so upset about that incident to pull the cyndi lauper stunt is that you feel that journalists jump to conclusions, see the worst in any possible set of circumstances and don't take the word of politicians when they say there is nuthing to see here, just move along. >> well, some journalists and sometimes and i understand politicians would say that anthony certainly lied when he got his situation. there's a bad track record. i can't say that i'm not without

some fault and the press didn't have some basis to have some, but anthony weiner went beyond anything i ever thought about and i'm single. there are certain differences. and there's personal life and if i was going out with somebody younger. and i generally, that does not, i don't want to get into my personal life. >> let me ask you, having done this and got a lot of attention for the cyndi lauper tweet holder a press conference to say, i was trying to pull a fast one on the members of the media. what do you feel like you accomplished? >> well, i think a lot of people know that the pbs show on 7:00 central standard is going to be out there. that's one thing. people will not look at politicians deleted tweets with necessarily such a jaundice eye and, thirdly, i guess i learned something and that is when you take a position against the media, which i did. i should have said some press and not the press because it's certainly just some of the press

and i should have known they would come back as the "washington post" did and attack me personally and really not understand the issue and they really reacted in a very personal, full-court press attack. i also brought up absence of malice and i think everybody watches a great movie. >> you are giving it two plugs. "washington post" poke fun at you rather than attack you. i expect you have a few more twitter followers because of this. thanks for sitting down with us from memphis. >> thank you, howard. ahead on "reliable sources" speaking of anthony weiner, the price of getting back into politics as a soul searching interview about the sex scandal that cost him his house seat. aaah! aaaaah! theres a guy on the window! do something, dad! aaaah! aaaah! what is happening? they're rate suckers. their bad driving makes car insurance

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it was nearly two years ago when anthony weiner stepped forward to say, he had sent x-rated pictures of himself to women through such venues as twitter. >> i'm deeply sorry for the pain this has caused.

my constituents, supporters, family and staff, several and appropriate conversations conducted over twitter, facebook and occasionally over the phone with women i met online. >> he resigned his house seat and went off to repair his marriage. both describe in painful detail, how it happened, why it happened and how they have coped. this as weiner is eyeing a late entry into the new york mayor's race. it was brutal, completely out of control. the crime, the cover up, the harm i had done to her and no one who deserved this less than her. no one deserved to have a dope like me do that less than she did. why did he do it? i wasn't really thinking. what does this mean i'm doing this? risky behavior, smart behavior, to me, another way to feed this notion that i want to be liked and admired. how did the "time" magazine

handle weiner's efforts joining me paul begala long-time strategist. the piece has been online for a couple days. how did the "new york times" handle this personal and remarkable story? >> remarkably and transparentally. you pointed this out, first, howie. i had never seen a piece before where the journalist himself or herself says to the subject who is weeping and pouring his heart, maybe we should stop for a while. i've never heard journalists say -- >> getting so raw and so personal. also the piece acknowledged. i was going to ask you, was "mo"new york times" being used here. the reason he did this and his wife do this because he wants to see as he can be viable as a new york political candidate. would cnn have turned that interview down? certainly not. any news entity would have wanted to have that interview. i don't fault "the times" at all. every interview is two sides

viewing each other. the media wants the raw material and the politician, in this case, wants to get a message out. >> if anthony weiner is willing to provide, i describe them as therapy sessions. he wants to provide excruciating detail about how he wanted to be loved and admired and should he have done it? any reason not to print all of that? >> no. no, there's not. but there may be reason not to say it. i'm kind of old school. tmi, for me, too much information. but frankly anthony has a better sense of the culture, the media culture we live in than i do. i rage against it and say we shouldn't talk so much. the truth is, everybody wants it. even "new york times" magazine wants all the painful detail. >> you're not unfamiliar with the press scandal and you worked in the white house during the monica lewinsky furor. would you ever advise bill clinton to doan interview like this? >> no. >> why? >> first off, he had a country

to run. that was the most important thing. keep our eyes on the prize. >> he was also trying to hold on to his job so he could keep running the country. how would he put his mistake with lewinsky behind him? >> was not to focus on the m mistake or the scandal and he did apologize. >> over a period of months, you'll recall. during which he lied to the country, as you'll recall. >> for which he apologized in a way that no president ever since here has before. president reagan said mistakes were made. bill clinton didn't do that. he apologized whole heartedly. the most important thing when you're president, be president and run the country. he doesn't have a job now. that was the only thing he could do. own up to it. look, he lied to me, he lied to a lot of people in the media and in the country and now he has apologized for that. >> you know the former congressman and he lied to you personally about the twitter

business? >> oh, yes. >> did you feel betrayed? >> of course, no one likes to be lied to. >> were you advising him? >> no, but i contacted him. i have to talk about it on cnn. oh, it's all untrue. same thing he said to everybody. >> the same thing with lance armstrong and me. he lied to me in two interviews. somehow more personal and stinging when it's not just somebody on tv saying it. here's the thing, let's say you were advising him after he came clean, which he did not initially when he did with you. would you advise him to do a tv interview. ten minutes he's off and puts it behind him. when you do a print interview, you give all the power to the writer to frame it as he sees fit. >> either way, i would say no edits. in other words, when you give the power of the pen to someone else, they can cut it as they see fit. i'll give you ten minutes. if you use eight, the deal is

off. get the whole thing. this so personal. >> almost like he felt a need to be understood. almost like it was a catharsis as much as a piece of journalism. obviously, he gave them many hours. >> what it does not seem to me as a licensed spin doctor, it doesn't seem to be spent. it seems to be a guy and what really resonated with me is when he said all the lies were derivative of the things he lied to huma. once he had done this terrible thing to his wife, lying to the whole country was nothing compared to that. and, so, that's what i suspect what he says perpetuated that. that doesn't excuse it at all. but it helps me to understand why he would go out of his way. i don't care, actually. the truth is, i do think our media is way too obsessed with sex. we had a republican senator a few months ago arrested for drunk driving, which killed people. this is just a sex scandal with no sex. >> you took the words out of my

mouth. you're a licensed spin doctor. paul begala, thanks for coming by. has the obama administration declared war on whistleblowers? the first television interview with robert greenwald on his new documentary. ruth is, a lot of sinus products don't treat cough. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ angry gibberish ] [ fake coughs ] sorry that was my fault sir. [ male announcer ] alka seltzer plus severe sinus. [ breathes deeply ] ♪ oh, what a relief it is! [ male announcer ] try alka seltzer plus severe sinus day and night for complete relief from your worst sinus symptoms. [ male announcer ] purpose elevates what we do.

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there have always been tensions between whistleblowers who leaked to the press and government professionals to protect congress. has been heating up, again, under president obama. as the new documentary, the war on whistleblowers makes clear, many journalists are concerned. >> one of the reasons that so much classified information leaks out is that there is so much classified information. >> but a spy is not a mid-level bureaucrat who notices tens of millions of dollars going down a rat hole somewhere and after notifying his superiors and getting no where eventually drops a diamond and calls a newspaper. that's a whistleblower. that's not a spy. >> i had to fly across the country and meet people in sort of unmarked hotel rooms in order to try to get the details and it does not feel kind of like a america landed the free press. >> and joining us now for his

first tv interview about the film, producer of war on whistleblowers free press and the national security state. thanks for coming in. what you don't demonstrate in this documentary, it seems to me, journalists are getting fewer sources, fewer stories from confidential sources as a result of what you described as a war. >> that's absolutely correct. we weren't able to follow through on everything. but we hope by having these incredible journalists speak out and call attention to the fact that literally the espionage act is being used against whistleblowers. calling whistleblowers spies is really, in many ways, beyond the pail of anything we've seen from any administration. >> you're a liberal. no secret about that. but you are disappointed, i think, the film clearly suggested and president obama for ramping up prosecutions in this area. >> president obama is doing a terrible disservice to democracy, to free speech and to the power and importance of both whistleblowers and journalists. and as dana priest say and many

others in the film, he has gotten too close to the cia. the national security state, as we know, is an enormous powerful entity. the film tries to connect those dots and show this is not an action. >> should government be able to keep some classified secrets? >> yeah, that's not an argument. no sane person is going to disagree with that. but that's not what's happening here. 1.7 billion e-mails every day are listened to by the national security state. six whistleblowers are being charged under espionage act. people are, homes are being broken into with guns drawn by the fbi. we can't have a democracy without a strong free press. >> james ricin of "new york times". >> yes. >> not every whistleblower has motives and you tend to paint them all as heroes. >> not every whistleblower has motives, but in the national security arena, these people are really heroic.

they're speaking up. they have nothing to gain and they're protecting us against fraud, abuse and, actually, with ron's, literally our saving lives in iraq by exposing the issue. >> some of them are success stories. a leak to the "new york times" about domestic surveillance efforts during this bush administration did shine a spotlight on that and put up debate. vice president cheney criticized the leak but in other cases people have faced jail or been able to defeat prosecution as in thomas drake the guy who leaked classified material to the baltimore sun. it is a mixed record. >> depending how you evaluate. these people, every one, are paying a deep, personal price, career, money, family, safety. and on the other hand, how are they able to impact? are they able to make a change? what was wonderful discovery for me in doing the film is every single whistle-blower ran up

against a brick wall. and went to the press. it is a reminder of how important investigative press is. >> as you know, robert greenwald there are those that say whether it is legal or not legal, when journalist accept classified information and expose what many administrations expose national secrets they are doing a disservice to the country and putting the scoop ahead of the country's interest. >> first of all, it is not classified information. >> sometimes it is. >> not in the movie. the obama administration overreached in these cases. >> so you are disputing the classification. >> and the courts have approved it was not classified information in those cases. that is an important distinction. when it comes down to it, when we have a national security state that is buildings the times bigger than the pentagon in 10,000 locations, most sane

americans, left, right or middle, would argue our freedom is more important. that freedom is being challenged by the crackdown. >> there is obviously a balance that has to be struck. i have a half minute. are journalist who are not supposed to take a stand on the issue but vested information to get the information the government wants out, have they been too docile? >> i'm not going to criticize investigative journalists. i hope the film provides a voice for them to come forward and for us to respect and say here's wonderful journalist and whistle-blowers. they are a important combination and let's not silence and shut them up. >> the film reflects that. thank you for talking to tus about that movie. still to come the media's failure to cover the sickening charges against an abortion doctor. and some of the media is celebrating margaret thatcher's death. the media monitor is straight ahead.

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time for the "media monitor" our look at the hits and errors

in the news business. the critics are right. the horrifying crime that a pennsylvania abortion doctor is accused of committing haven't gotten enough national media coverage. kermit gosnell is on charge for running a house of horrors throwing mutilated fetuses which were brutally killed. some say it amounts to a blackout by the so-called liberal media but it is more complicated than that. the case has drawn some coverage since the fbi raided the clinic in 2010 in "time" and npr, ap, new york times and t"the daily beast." cnn has done some stories and fox did a story the same day. >> one by one witnesses are sharing horror stories in the trial of a philadelphia abortion provider. >> an abortion doctor in philadelphia is accused of killing babies after birth. >> msnbc like fox has don't a few stories. cbs and abc carried news

segments in january but there haven't been enough on the trial. almost nothing in the "washington post," or the times. perhaps they are less attuned to a story on abortion but the conservative media didn't do much either. it is not like the staunchest pro-choice advocate would defend what he is alleged to have done. this is a gruesome case that both sides have heard is hard to stomach. that is especially true on television. since powers called out the media the coverage is picking up, as it should. when margaret thatcher died i had no problem with the media ripping her record. she was divisive accused of penalizing the poor and battling unions and no need to pretend otherwise. what i have a problem with is the pundits that took joy in her death.

there's nothing before or like her since thank god. margaret thatcher's death is mourned by half of the nation and celebrated by the other half. that is mean spirited even if a few lefties danced in the streets she was 87 years old and out of office two decades. fox news.com reporter who had been facing the possibility of going to jail has gotten a reprieve. jane that winter broke a story in the aurora, colorado theater massacre saying two law enforcement officers said that holmes had mailed his psychiatrist a notebook with violent drawings and details of a murderous plot. a judge in denver said he won't rule on whether winter has to testify until he decides whether the notebook can be used as evidence. winter said she can't reveal where he she got the information or no source would trust her again. she's right. she shouldn't be pout in the position of facing jail to report .