that's it for this week's show. thanks to my panel and especially to all of you for watching. i'm paul gigot. hope to see you all here next week. what they care about is making an extremely negative example out of him to intimidate future whistleblowers from coming forward. >> the columnist who served as conduit for government secrets for snowden. defending the actions of his source. is had acting as a journalist or activist? and what's the difference? >> did you think there was anything wrong with him following him to see where he was going? >> legally speaking, no. >> murder trial of george zimmerman getting more volatile coverage. as the trial presses on, are the media pressing their agenda? trying to convict zimmerman before the jury speaks? nfl star aaron hernandez facing

charges of murder and other misdeeds but is not the only bad boy in the league. can the media be blamed for ignoring the bad behavior? a journalist dies in a fiery crash. and the details are somewhat sketchy. was this part of a conspiracy to shut him up? and facebook pull it is plug on a fox news radio post. >> i reached out to facebook and said did you have problem with the nra, jesus or the plump juicy chicken breast and haven't responded yet. >> on the pan they will week, writer and fox news contributor judy miller. radio talk show host monica crowley. fox news analyst i want williams. fox news watch is on right now. thomas jefferson said that those who most fear investigations are the ones who

attack a prepress first. that's why a prepress is guaranteed and so that i can as a journalist help may fellow citizens the government is collecting all of their phone records and e-mail records and tapping into their facebook conversations and google chats and skype telephone calls and this is what journalism is about. shining a light on what the most powerful people in the country are doing to them and in the dark. we are going to continue to do that no matter what david gregory and his friends say. >> that's guardian columnist glen greenwald, deep pending his reporting on government spying. his actions causing a debate over activism and journalism. mark sullivan, public editor at the new york times, wrote this. quote, a real journalist is one that understands that a cellular level, and doesn't shy away from adversarial relationship between government and press, the very tension that america's founders had in mind with the first amendment. those who fully meet the description deserve to be respected and protected, not marginalized. "the new york times" media columnist david carr warns that i do think that activism, which

is admittedly accompanied by the kind of determine determination that can prompt discovery can also impair vision. if an agenda is in play and momentum at work cracks may go unexplored. judy miller, you served time and in -- time in prison because you were a journalist. has he gone over the line? >> no, i don't think he has. i think he needs to be defended. i think hay is a journalist with a point of view. he's a columnist. he's a blogger. he is now a member of our profession and we ought to stop those people who suggest that he's guilty of some kind of crime for soliciting news or encouraging people to talk to him which is what the government tried to say about james rosen, pox news reporter. >> how do we know he's being pair and hon snes. >> what do you mean fair he has a point of view and he's open about it. i think the problem is journalists who have an agenda that are -- a reader or viewer is mott aware of.

>> we don't know that -- greenwald is fair but leave it to the first amendment and battle of ideas on sort that out. history will judge whether greenwald has been accurate or not but in the meantime, it is in the interest of all journalists and all americans to protect his right to free speech. even as we agree that snowden was looking less and less glamorous. >> they talk about him being a hero, talk about him being a traitor. what's your feeling? >> well, on snowden i think she a traitor. i don't think it is much doubt about it in my mind. on greenwald, much more interesting to see because when you look at the rosen case and idea that an american journalist would be targeted for prosecution, as part of that conspiracy, you think, well, in the rosen case there were uses of aliases and new e-mail accounts ask blind e-mail accounts. you can understand why the government might think there's something more going on here. but if you put the government in charge of labeling who is a journalist and who is not a journalist i think we undo then first amendment protections.

the difficulty here is if you get someone, let's say, from -- you know, let's say who is a terrorist and who says oh, yeah, i'm working for x magazine and i want to undermine the american government and i want to end america's democracy, i think it is a horrible place, how do you say to that person you are not a journ journalist? is that person a journalist? i don't think so. i think you have to look as in the rosen case i think the -- mistake made there was law enforcement didn't say hey, wait a second, who is this guy? does he have a record or background as a professional journalist? answer, yes. >> there are real questions here and very interesting ones about the distinctions between journalists and propaganda. and activists. the question here in this case is not glen greenwald. i agree with you he is not the issue here. he was the con due and it journal whois reported the story. the real question here is about edward snowden. you raise ad question here or

trait traitor. media loves a stark distinction. and they will try to chase down those stark distinctions. black versus white. hero versus traitor. i think he somewhere in the middle. i think that you can honestly say -- not something the media has explored over the last couple of weeks. you can actually be on the side of wanting our state's secrets to be protected but also being deeply concerned about this kind of a program and the potential abuse of some of those programs. >> we have a statement from snowden. let's read that now. in tend the obama administration is not afraid of whistle blowers like me. bradley manning or thomas drake. we are stateless and powerless. no the obama administration is afraid of you. it is afraid of an informed and angry republic demanding the constitutional government it was promised and it should be. what do you -- what do you think about that type of perspective that the american public should be afraid of the government? >> well, i don't think that the american public should be afraid of the government. but -- the government has a

responsibility to make sure that the classified information that it has is protected and that it hires people who will protect that information. i also don't think that the government should decide who is a journalist because whether you work for the, no times, "meet the press," or you are a blogger, or you are an activist on twitter, you are a journalist that is pushing these issues. the government shun be involved. i will tell what you is really happening here, though. it is the -- proved journalists, the media in washington, who have been getting all of these leaks, and are really upset that glen is coming in to the forefront and is an unapproved journalist. so that the i shall sue with -- the upsetting of the apple cart within the media world. that's what's -- >> the problem. >> i know you are smiling and laughing and got the incestuous internal relationship in washington with everyone going to the georgetown cocktail parties and working on each other. >> greenwald is not part of that club. i have to point out that this is more than a semantic debate

because we are trying to enact a federal shield law to protect sources of journalists. how you define journalist will be very for. >> i just want to say i agree with thomas jefferson. author of the first amendment. the government should be afraid of people. >> i must say that -- in contrary to what we just read from greenwald, or -- snowden, excuse me, the american people are not mad at the american government and after his revelation to the contrary. when you look at the polls they are mad at snowden and they think that his behavior and the fact he fled the country and not accountable is reprehensible. >> i will say this. when you look at polling the american people are very concerned about this kind of program and the potential abuses of. >> it correct. if you ask them -- understanding that we live in an age of terrorism, if you ask them is this something that the government needs to engage in, they -- also -- say yes. >> to terrorism only. we we don't know. >> 59% say that the government surveillance invades innocent americans' privacy.

overwhelming majority of americans think that the government has gone too far. >> go ahead. >> if you take young people, which i think you have to -- think about the future of our country, young people are overwhelmingly upset with this type of stuff. had live on facebook and live on twitter. they are -- accustomed to having information out in public. yet, it is at their -- idea of what is private. so i saw a poll once that said 77% of young people are truly upset with the government coming down on snowden. they think of snowden as a hero. >> let's leave it at that. of course, there are also concerns and questions about that statement that snowden had. next on "news watch," what's behind the interest in the zimmerman murder trial? >> mainstream media consume bid the george zimmerman trial, charges of racism. are the media drumming up more speculation instead of reporting on the facts? answers next.

mr. zimmerman's story completely accurate and that he receive the injuries by trayvon martin. trayvon martin was hitting his head against concrete. correct? >> yes, sir. >> do you consider that to have be -- with the concrete? >> yes, sir. >> he may not have been armed when he was walking but was

armed with something that could cause great bodily injury or death by hitting the head against concrete? correct? >> yes, sir. >> that's some of the testimony this week in the murder trial of george zimmerman. the trial getting wall-to-wall media coverage, again, this week. why all that interest? according to a blogger, the only reason the proceedings are on tv to begin with is because the media is obsessed with the idea that zimmerman committed a racial atrocity and must be punished for it. there is an obvious innocent victim diabolical defendant, dynamic, at the media's interested in. man, oh, man. with all the stuff going on in the world, egypt, obama care, nsa, this is wall to wall? >> i think it is race race. i think that it is -- actually not in the trial but it is in us as the american people because remember, the media initially libelled mr. zimmerman by making it out to be this was some white guy who attacked this black teenager with a hoodie and all of that. and then it turns out he may have been in fact, a

neighborhood watch guy, who was very concerned and profiling. hess possible. it is not necessarily racial because, in fact, he has hispanic background. what concerns me in this is that i think the fascination with the american mind has forced it so that now conservatives say they are pro-zimmerman and liberals say they are pro-martin and i'm thinking, wait a second. black and white and i just think it is -- sort of a most primitive, low-level, level of racial division that's being played on by media are you disturb bid had a? >> i think it fuels that kind of racial anger and misunderstanding and misrepresentation. >> monica, look what nbc did. some people got fired for it at nbc for editing improperly some of his phone calls trying to portray him in another way. new york times called him a white hispanic. >> you are looking at a local news story that became a national news story because the mainstream media picked up on the racial angle as i want points out and infused the entire story based on race.

look, if trayvon martin had been shot by a black man as happens every day in big cities like chicago, you would never even hear about trayvon martin. it would not have this kind of coverage. this kind of stuff is going black on black violence and minority on minority violence every day. so, of course, it is a national story simply because of race. to your point burden of proof. burden of proof is on the state to prove that mr. zimmerman is guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt. what the media has done is sort of flip that and indicted mr. zimmerman. >> we have been here before with a lot of other trials. it is arage i did no matter how you cut it. what's the media's responsibility and have they fulfilled that properly? >> well -- >> go ahead. >> i'm going to associate myself with jack's comments in the huffington post when hay said basically enough. this is -- too much. it is just too much. we have -- as you pointed out, a

few things going on in the world and that largest protests in human history in egypt our president having come back from africa and -- nelson mandela on death's door. 19 pyre fighters die in a horrible blaze and all we are see sing zimmerman, zimmerman, zimmerman, trayvon martin. i'm sorry. i think it is overkill. i know it gets ratings but doesn't reflect what the country should be about. >> you hit it on the head. one of the networks is running it all the time and getting zoomed up to number one. >> huffington post says enough. safe bet zimmerman will get acquitted or mistrial. look -- you know, the -- disappointment on msnbc on this case as the case fall apart, it is palpable. you can see them clearly sad that zimmerman might get off. >> rick, you are in l.a. when i think of l.a. i think of o.j. i mean, just -- we have these -- continually. >> yeah. you know, this is a media biased

show. i didn't really care much about the zimmerman trial until the media jumped in and really, you know, judged the case from the beginning. have you abc news who from the beginning manipulated video to make it look like zimmerman didn't have any injuries. and now this week and last week we see gutman making all sorts of mistakes. he's not reporting on the facts. he -- he's dramatizing. he -- you know, judge gutman here already decided. when the media comes in and they decide a case before we even start hearing the facts, i think then the american public gets outraged at the media. i think that's what we are seeing now is -- the story is completely switched as to what we once were told by the media. >> and -- final judge, of course, will the jury when they get that case. we will see what they say about it. thank you. next on "news watch," crime, athletes and the media. >> high proceed pile and big money nfl stars make headlines.

after a string of arrests, can the bad boy behavior be pin order the adoring media? answers next.

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♪ ♪ an n.f.l. star aaron hernandez is in jail accused of murder. an investigation into his role in two other kihz. according to a database, 31 n.f.l. players have been arrested since the superbowl, charges ranging from murder, attempted murder, assault, public intoxication and the list goes on and on. monica, is it a scare tactic or aggressive out on the gridiron. >> hernandez case is extraordinary and horrible story because are dealing with a murder and possibly two other murders and being investigated here. hernandez was a hot shot on

the new england patriots. celebrity culture that comes into this. look when media makes this into story huge crime rate in the n.f.l. 29 players have been arrested represented 1% of all the players trying to vie for n.f.l. roster spotted. the n.f.l. players only represent one-fourth as often as men in that age bracket 22-34. so they are not talking about, they are better behaved than in general population but they get all the headlines and they make a lot of money and we tend to look at sports figures as role models. >> eric: they go easy on these guys. they don't do crime stories. >> they go easy on them until they clobber them. >> eric: one thing in the sports pages and something

else when you have a horrible situation like this. >> hernandez is discovering what it is like. >> my take on it these are role models. charles barkley said i am not a role model. hell, yes you are a role model. you look at hernandez with tattoos up and down his arms arms and his attitude is poisonous for young people of color. when they look for male examples of what success looks like, they see hernandez or they see charles barkley and these guys. if they are misbehaving. you know what you are supposed to replicated what to have a dowag on your head. i think it's absolutely wrong. i hope somebody would say it. >> eric: great point. great point. thank you. we need to move on to something else.

conspiracy theories related to death of journalist. michael hastings was killed a car crash last month. it occurred about 4:00 in the morning. his 2010 rolling stone article, may remember that made it clear there was so much backlash when mcchrystal was forced to routine but there are questions the afternoon before the crash, he emailed workers, interviewing my close friends and authorities arrive erhq may request let counsel before any conversations or news gathering practices are related journalism issues. on to a big story. i need to go on off the radar for a bit. all the best and hope to see you soon. this sounds frightening if the guy things he is being tailed or something? >> i think this is story that merits coverage. i don't believe in

conspiracy theories normally but there is so much suspicion about his death. he was extraordinarily talented reporter. really fearless and he had a lot of enemies and people that admired stanley mcchrystal but a 4:00 a.m. accident in los angeles at a time when he talked to his wife who is extraordinarily talented person of a totally different political persuasion he was working on the hottest story of his life. he couldn't even tell her. >> you can't discount it. richard clarke says it's possible to hijack a car. former cyber czar. >> eric: we'll continue to follow the story. next on news watch, targets, one of our own.

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♪ ♪ >> eric: here is the

message fox news radio host pat starns received violating community standards bans nudity harassment, pornography and spam. so what did starnes actually post? >> he said this, i'm about as politically incorrect as you can get. i'm wearing an nra ball cap, eating a chick click fill lay sandwich and sitting in my rocking chair singing jesus saved on the store yeo and bible in my pocket. yes, sir, i'm politically incorrect and happy as june bug. [ laughter ] >> eric: facebook did have a change of heart. that reaction to the blocking of the page, it was a mistake and they apologized for the error. question still lingers why he was blocked in the first

place. the pages clearly vulgar, they are not. thanks to our panel today. i'm eric shawn. keep it right here on the fox news channel. >> gregg: this is a fox news alert. you are looking at live pictures of san francisco international airport. fox news has confirmed through the faa that a boeing 777 operated by asiana airlines crashed upon landing. we can't give you any further details. we don't know how many people were on board. it's one of two top airliners operating out of south korea but this is an asiana airlines. boeing which has been in production since the mid 1970s and has