I'm sure it goes back further than that. And I'm sure the government regularly tells the news media what not to say, it just seems a shame that such would happen here.
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On some occassions, the government telling the media what not to print can be justified. Usually an important detail of a crime is not reported, so that the only ones that would know it are the police and the perps. Often the perps will reveal this detail, believing that it was reported (the weapons used, the time or exact location of the crime are frequently unreported), and thus will give themselves away.
This is far different from the police refusing to report abuse of arrestees, torture, and the like.
Absolute rules are usually impossible to deal with. Descretion and logic must also be used.
The problem is the government often oversteps its limits.