Marie Brenner, who started her reporting career during the Watergate Era, argued in her keynote speech to the San Antonio Poyner National Writer's Workshop, "that war is being waged against this nation's press and journalists must stand together to turn back assaults on their freedoms."

Brenner, also an at-large correspondent for Vanity Fair, sees parallels between the climate of the 1970's during Watergate, and the recent "Plamegate" case, saying that what's happening today may be far more of a threat to journalists than the threats during Watergate. Says Brenner of Bob Woodward "quietly" handing over his off-the-record notes to the special prosecutor investigating the Plame case: "This would have been inconceivable during the Watergate years... Incredible."

Also noted: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales remarks in which he stated that it is possible to prosecute journalists for printing classified information that would endanger national security: "There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility." The nation's top law enforcer also said the government will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of a criminal leak investigation, but officials would not do so routinely and randomly.