AAN News
Army Subpoenas Reporters to Testify at Court Martialnew
Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporter Gregg Kakesako and freelancer Sarah Olson have been summoned to appear at a pre-trial hearing this month at Fort Lewis, Wash. The case involves 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, 28, who has publicly criticized the war in Iraq and has refused his deployment order. "Trying to force a reporter to testify at a court-martial sends the wrong signal to the media and the military," writes Military Reporters and Editors President James W. Crawley, on the organization's Web site. "One of the hallmarks of American journalism is a clear separation of the press and the government. Using journalists to help the military prosecute its case seems like a serious breach of that wall."
Military Reporters & Editors |
01-03-2007 12:43 pm |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial
Former Top Time Inc. Editor Files FOIA Request With Justice Dept.new
Norman Pearlstine (pictured) last week sought federal documents relating to subpoenas of reporters in three recent cases of reporter-source privilege, reports the Wall Street Journal. The cases -- ranging from stories on Barry Bonds' alleged steroid use to terrorist financing -- illustrate growing tensions between news organizations, the White House, and Congress over the extent of the First Amendment rights of journalists to protect confidential sources. "I believe that the framers of the Constitution put a free and independent press in the First Amendment to protect the public's right to know, and the only way you do that is protect reporters' ability to keep certain sources confidential," says Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, a Republican critic of the White House on the issue. Pence will cosponsor legislation in the 110th Congress to protect journalists against government harassment over sources.
Wall Street Journal |
12-26-2006 12:20 pm |
Legal News
Bay Guardian Asks Court to Unseal Hearst/MediaNews Documentsnew
The San Francisco alt-weekly and the Media Alliance filed papers yesterday to intervene in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Bay Area newspaper deal between Hearst Corp. and MediaNews Group Inc., reports Editor & Publisher. The Bay Guardian hopes to unseal documents filed by the two companies in the case. "The courts are supposed to operate in public, and there's a clear public interest in this information," says Editor and Publisher Bruce Brugmann (pictured). "Our intent here is to ensure that the nation's biggest newspaper chains, as they move to destroy daily competition and impose a regional monopoly on the Bay Area, cannot do so in the dark of night with sealed records that set a terrible precedent for the free press, the First Amendment, and open government."
Editor & Publisher |
12-22-2006 4:07 pm |
Legal News
'Hundreds of Millions' of Documents Set for Declassificationnew
The first minute of the new year will see the instant declassification of a mountain of previously secret government documents in what is set to become an annual event under a "25-year law" passed by the Clinton Administration but that is only now coming into effect, reports the New York Times. The somewhat surprising decision by the Bush administration to uphold the law -- after two three-year delays -- which places a quarter-century limit on the classified status of most government documents, is being lauded by open-government advocates and historians alike. "Americans need to know this history, and the history is in those documents," Anna K. Nelson, a historian at American University, tells the Times.
The New York Times |
12-21-2006 4:20 pm |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial
Senator Leahy Defends FOIA, Pledges Fight For Open Governmentnew
In an impassioned speech at the Georgetown University Law Center, incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont marked the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Freedom of Information Act and promised to improve transparency of government during the 110th Congress. The senator cited Texas Republican colleague John Cornyn as a strong ally in the fight to change the climate created by the Bush Administration, which has shown a "dangerous disdain for the free press and the public." Leahy says one of his priorities for the committee will be "to continue efforts to strengthen and improve our open government laws."
Burlington Free Press |
12-15-2006 10:26 am |
Legal News
Press Freedoms Hang on Balco Appeal, Attorney Saysnew
The fate of two San Francisco Chronicle reporters could be a journalistic watershed, the New York Times reports. District Judge Jeffrey S. White wants Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada to serve up to 18 months in jail for refusing to divulge their grand jury sources. "This is the single, biggest case I have ever been involved in," says Eve Burton, the Hearst lawyer representing the reporters. "If the government wins in this case, every reporter's notebook will be available to the government for the asking," Burton says.
New York Times |
11-27-2006 6:59 pm |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial
Web Censorship Law Gets New Hearingnew
A case winding down in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia could revive the
Child Online Protection Act, a federal law that makes it a crime to
knowingly post sexually explicit material that is "harmful to minors" on the
Internet. Enacted in 1998, COPA was immediately blocked by a federal
injunction at the behest of a coalition headed by the American Civil Liberties Union. CNET
News says U.S. District Judge Lowell A. Reed Jr. could elect to lift the injunction by early 2007.
CNET News |
11-21-2006 9:41 am |
Legal News
Calif. Court Ruling Shields Internet Users, Providers From Liabitynew
Los Angeles Times |
11-20-2006 4:08 pm |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial
Once Again, Court Orders New York Times Writer to Out Sourcesnew
New York Times |
10-24-2006 1:39 pm |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial
Federal Agencies Improve FOIA Response, Federal Times Saysnew
Federal Times |
10-23-2006 8:51 am |
Legal News
Defying Grand Jury Order, Blogger Makes His Stand Behind Barsnew
The San Francisco Chronicle |
10-17-2006 7:00 am |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial, Electronic Publishing
Pa. Supreme Court Denies A.G.'s Request for Paper's Hard Drivesnew
CNET |
10-13-2006 3:21 pm |
Legal News
Blog Alert: Florida Woman Collects $11.3M for Defamatory Postnew
USA Today |
10-11-2006 9:38 am |
Legal News
Tags: Electronic Publishing
Bloggers: Lawsuits Won't Stop Publishers From Bloggingnew
Folio: |
10-06-2006 2:52 pm |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial, Electronic Publishing
Opinion: Give Americans More Access To Governmentnew
Des Moines Register |
10-05-2006 8:26 am |
Legal News
