The Associated Press Gary Pruitt, president and CEO of The Associated Press, speaks about press freedom at the 69th General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association at a hotel in downtown Denver on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

By COLLEEN SLEVIN/Associated Press/October 20, 2013

DENVER (AP) Governments that try to force citizens to decide between a free press and national security create a false choice that weakens democracy, and journalists must fight increasing government overreach that has had a chilling effect on efforts to hold leaders accountable, the president and CEO of The Associated Press said.

Gary Pruitt told the 69th General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association on Saturday that the U.S. Justice Departments secret seizure of records of thousands of telephone calls to and from AP reporters in 2012 is one of the most blatant violations of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution the 167-year-old news cooperative has ever encountered.

The Justice Department action involving the AP resonated far beyond the U.S., including Latin America, where journalists for decades have fought to exercise press freedoms under authoritarian regimes, Pruitt said.

The actions by the Department of Justice could not have been more tailor-made to comfort authoritarian regimes who want to suppress the news media. The United States does it too, they can say, Pruitt said.

A free and independent press differentiates democracy from dictatorship; separates a free society from tyranny, he said.

Governments who try to set up a situation where citizens think they must choose between a free press and security are making a mistake that will ultimately weaken them, not strengthen them. Its not a real choice. It is a false choice.

Pruitt said he was encouraged by proposed Justice Department guidelines, introduced after the records seizure, that would give news media advance notice of subpoenas so the press can challenge those actions in court; protect not just phone records but reporters email, text messages and other forms of electronic communication; and guarantee that journalists wont be prosecuted for doing their jobs.

But you can bet that we will be watching closely to make sure they are implemented and enforced, Pruitt said.

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AP CEO: Press freedom v. security a 'false choice'