A free press is an accountable press, right? Right?

Over at Catallaxy, I've decided to have a big think-out-loud session on the parlous state of the media. This has largely been in response to the atrocious coverage of the most recent Middle-Eastern bust up. Rob at Better Part of Valour has done a super job of rounding up all the info, and a quick hop across to his site will tell you pretty much all you need to know, as well as provide a mass of links.

Now I'm a libertarian. I'm really, really suspicious of foreign policy adventurism, and am fairly sure that whatever happens in the Middle East (Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran etc), it's likely to go badly. How badly is an unknown, however, because the ladies and gentlemen of the press have been very keen to make everything look worse than it actually is. I used to think making shit up was the preserve of novelists (I should know, I am one, and have made up my fair share), but some of this stuff is simply staggering.

With that in mind, I've put the legal beagle to work and tried to sketch out a few proposals. Check it out and let me know what you think.