There is an interesting case involving Bloomberg News. One of its reporters, Michael Forsythe, has been suspended. He “was based in Hong Kong and has written award-winning investigative articles on China.” I am quoting from a New York Times article. Apparently, Bloomberg spiked a report by Forsythe, for fear that the Chinese government would object and expel Bloomberg from the country.

In Impromptus today, I say I was reminded of Eason Jordan, the CNN executive who wrote an illuminating op-ed piece after the U.S. and its allies toppled Saddam Hussein. That piece was titled “The News We Kept to Ourselves.” It ended,

I felt awful having these stories bottled up inside me. Now that Saddam Hussein’s regime is gone, I suspect we will hear many, many more gut-wrenching tales from Iraqis about the decades of torment. At last, these stories can be told freely.

A reader has e-mailed me,

Your story about Bloomberg News in China reminded me of William Shirer’s Berlin Diary. He talks about leaving, and how glad he was to do so, because he found it no longer possible to report the news. When it comes to dictatorships, nothing ever seems to change.

That’s true. In my column, I say the following: “Part of me thinks, If Bloomberg can’t report the news honestly from China, they should say so and get out. Or stay and find a way of saying, ‘We can’t report everything we know. Or we choose not to, because we want to stay here and do as much as we can.’”

These decisions are very tricky for news organizations. I don’t have an absolute, hard-and-fast answer. But I think news organizations ought to err on the side of telling the truth, even if it means expulsion.