VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) -- Veteran CBS newsman Bob Schieffer, who received the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media at the University of South Dakota, says the nation has never needed a vigorous free press more than now....
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He said Thursday the government will always cover up its mistakes if it operates in secret and that it was up to journalists to expose the truth.
''Why does the government need a list of my phone calls?'' he asked. ''And what business does a democracy have running secret prisons? ... Do you believe that anyone would have known about these secret prisons or what was going on in Abu Ghraib if it had been left to the government to announce it?
''Some would argue these revelations hurt our cause. I argue just the opposite. Bringing mistakes to the fore is a strength, not a weakness.''
Schieffer said America's great strength comes from emphasizing the values and principles that separate it from its enemies -- ''not by adopting their methods and their techniques.''
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