Newsmen Will Argue on Truman Censoring in Law Forum Tonight

Freedom of the press and the effects of President Truman's recent censorship order will lead the Law School Forum discussion at 8 p.m. tonight at the New Lecture Hall. Three newspapermen and a lawyer will debate the topic. "How Free Is the Press?", emphasizing the problems a newspaper faces in maintaining its independence.

The journalists are Erwin D. Canham, editor of the Christian Science Monitor: August Heckscher, editorial writer for the New York Herald Tribune; and John H. Thompson, international vice-president of the American Newspaper Guild. The attorney is Morris L. Ernst, who has worked in many civil rights cases.

Current interest on the topic centers around the Executive order restricting the right of government agencies to issue news statements. Other issues which will be discussed are slander in newsprint; the influence of advertisers and political parties on papers' editorial policies; the decrease in the number of newspapers, which threatens freedom of the press; and the possibility of the federal government's subsidizing or even publishing a paper.