Contemplating Media & the First Amendment
In his 2017 New York Times Article about the revival of the Wikimedia v. NSA case, Charlie Savage raises a very important question: How do we apply old legal concepts (like the First and Fourth Amendments) to 21st century communications technology? Maybe we don’t. In the article, Savage outlines the details of the case, explaining... Continue Reading →
So far in Media and the First Amendment (COMM 320), we've learned two things about money: it's fungible, and it conveys a message. So on the topic of free speech, what kinds of donations are First Amendment dilemmas? The answer is religious ones . . . well, political ones too, but we'll save that for... Continue Reading →
The Barbara Barnett piece discusses an honest reality that I had not been exposed to: Mothers killing their children. https://www.islesoftheleft.org/on-regretting-motherhood/ Barnett outlines that mothers are seen to be these beings that, more often than not, have a "natural" ability and instinct to nurture children and guide them. However,that's a narrative that fails to account the... Continue Reading →
Source: Forbes Magazine Many have questioned Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s qualifications to be the President of the United States, including some of his fellow Democratic candidates. I recently say a New York Times op-ed titled “Why Pete Buttigieg Annoys His Democratic Rivals” exploring how many find Buttigieg to be irritating and difficult to take seriously considering... Continue Reading →
As we're sitting in the midst of an almost impeachment, I've been thinking that there is no way Trump can screw us over more than he has in the last few weeks. Boy, was I wrong. The Trump Administration released that they are starting the official process of withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. For... Continue Reading →
In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, day after day articles about “fake news”, “election interference”, and the public messages of political leaders on various social media platforms make “front screen news.” Facebook and Twitter typically receive the most credit for their close association to the prevalence and rampant spread of mis- and dis-... Continue Reading →
The Black Lives Matter movement has been successful at drawing attention, albeit not necessarily good attention. A study done by Joy Leopold and Myrtle Bell looked at various mainstream newspapers to see how they covered BLM protests. Insert the protest paradigm. To make their work easier and help push out articles faster, journalists classify articles... Continue Reading →
Long before he was occupying the White House, Donald Trump’s public image was largely defined by tabloids. His brazen and brash behavior made him an easy target for gossipy entertainment news outlets. His reality television show “The Apprentice” (2004-2017) aired and rose to popularity during a time that can be considered the golden age of... Continue Reading →
Last Wednesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that Twitter was going to stop running all political advertisements. “This isn’t about free expression. This is about paying for reach. And paying to increase the reach of political speech has significant ramifications that today’s democratic infrastructure may not be prepared to handle. It’s worth stepping back in... Continue Reading →
Can you blow my whistle, baby? No, but seriously, what does it take to be a whistleblower in an organization? Confidence? Morality? No regard for what you may lose? Reading about whistleblowers this week had me wondering if I would ever blow the whistle on an organization I was in - and I’m not sure... Continue Reading →
Free Press Free Speech 