"I've Got A Little List. . . ."*

Of course, the first thing you have to do is to compile the list:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to monitor hundreds of thousands of news sources around the world and compile a database of journalists, editors, foreign correspondents, and bloggers to identify top “media influencers.”

It’s seeking a contractor that can help it monitor traditional news sources as well as social media and identify “any and all” coverage related to the agency or a particular event, according to a request for information released April 3.

The data to be collected includes a publication’s “sentiment” as well as geographical spread, top posters, languages, momentum, and circulation. No value for the contract was disclosed.

I wonder exactly what DHS means by "sentiment." Under this regime, it's way too easy to guess.

Via Joe.My.God. Joe also includes this reaction from Forbes:

Every day, journalists face serious consequences including physical violence, imprisonment and death. A few days ago, the Committee to Protect Journalists launched its annual Free The Press campaign to raise awareness about imprisoned journalists throughout the world.

On May 3, UNESCO will once again mark World Press Freedom Day “to inform citizens of violations of press freedom — a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered.”

Meanwhile, the United States government, traditionally one of the bastions of press freedom, is about to compile a list of professional journalists and “top media influencers,” which would seem to include bloggers and podcasters, and monitor what they’re putting out to the public. What could possibly go wrong? A lot.

Whoever came up with this idea obviously wasn't twigging to the optics, which, given Trump's ongoing war with the legitimate press, are appalling. Especially since this is coming from Homeland Security.

Of course, when you control the executive and Congress and are busily packing the courts, maybe you don't need to worry about optics so much.

* In case you've forgotten, that's the opening line of the Lord High Executioner's aria from The Mikado. It continues "They never will be missed/No, they never will be missed. . . . "