I am familiar with attempts to control information.  When the Tea- Party- types took control of the largest Protestant Denomination in the nation, one of their first agendas was to control information.  Allowing an independent news media was not an option.  Instead they replaced it with what was more like a public relations organization.  Those in power chose to have absolute control on the information that was shared about the organization.  Tenured journalists were thrown out and replaced with party people in sympathy with the agenda of those in power.
     In my state the Baptist Convention resisted this surge, or as it became known, a "takeover."  We held on to an independent and free news organization.  The state convention even had a tradition of allowing the news agency to dwell in a separate building from the denomination offices.  This was deemed essential if there was to be open, free, and accurate reporting of news.
     A recent happening in Dallas caught my attention.  The two pastors of the largest Southern Baptist churches in the city became enraged at the information being shared by an organization in the Southern Baptist Convention.  Russell Moore, head of the ethics agency of the Convention, had made some comments about the moral life of the President.  This so infuriated Dr. Jeffress of First Dallas and his completion, Jack Graham, at Prestonwood Baptist, they threatened to withhold funding the organization headed by Moore.  Moore had dared to criticize their President or "Our Emperor" as he is known on the website, the Daily Stormer.
     Church life in the South was marked by the open sharing of information.  Public business meetings with open books were the norm and expected concept of a true church.  Now the model is more akin to Joel Olsteen's version with no open books,  no business meetings and no participation by the pew in decision making.  Little information is shared.  In the case of Ed Young's son in Dallas, no one knew about his private jet and nearly one million dollar salary.  His father, Pastor or chief CEO of Second Baptist in Houston,  has created a model I call a franchise.  Several congregations are connected to the central church and these churches operate in the dark as far as budgets, firings, or key decision making.  The concept is presented that in a successful church organization the less information shared the better it is for the health of the body.  Expecting Religious Right leaders to come forward and demand the open sharing of information is wishful thinking.  Why should they expect the nation's leader to do this when they do not practice such.
     The fact that we have an administration that seems to think the National Enquirer is a more reliable resource than the New York Times is a fact of life.  The fact that our Democracy is dependent upon a free press in a free state is a historical reality. President Trump's alleged war on the press is cause for alarm. I am reminded of the story of John the Baptist.  He dared to report about the moral life of a pagan king.  John was public in his denouncement of the personal moral life of the head of the state.  He lost his head over it.  One might hope that people like Jeffress, who has the ear of the President, would encourage him to be open to the reporting of news.  Unfortunately Jeffress does not appear to be a good example.