Harassment of indy journalists

Since the 1960s when the FBI and local police engaged in violence and harassment against "underground weeklies," repression against dissenting U.S. outlets has greatly deceased. But it has not fully ended, as in Minnesota during the 2008 Republican convention.

Or as in Alaska, during last year's election. An online reporter was handcuffed and detained for asking questions of the Alaska Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Joe Miller. The reporter -- a well-known journalist in the area and founder of Alaska Dispatch -- was handcuffed by Miller's security personnel after a dispute over his questioning of the candidate about his role as a former part-time city attorney. Here's Alaska Dispatch's version of the detention. The critical reporting on Miller's past -- and this heavy-handed incident -- contributed to Miller's defeat in the November election.