"I Censor Myself"

MARGARET FRIEDENAUER reports from Iraq for the Daily News Miner and seems to be doing so with honor:

Some people have asked if my stories are censored by the military.
The short answer is no.
The long answer is no, but my stories are “censored” by myself.
No one in the military reads any of my writing or sees any of my photos before they hit the paper or Web site. No one has asked to see them either. Sometimes they are sent over Internet lines provided by the military but most of the time I have used connections that are private lines.

Sometimes there are more important considerations than getting a "scoop":

The basic guideline is I have agreed not to release information that could potentially threaten the security and safety of troops during combat. The document also states “These ground rules recognized the inherent right to the media to cover combat operations are in no way intended to prevent release of embarrassing, negative or derogatory information.”The military certainly doesn’t go out of its way to provide me detailed operational information, but it’s difficult not to come across information not fit to print in the course of my day.

Read Margaret's blog "Reporting From the Frontlines".