From threats and attacks against journalists and newsrooms and restrictions placed on reporters, to anti-media rhetoric and a growing distrust of the media in the U.S., our right to free press is being threatened in new ways. The arrest of Omar Jimenez, a journalist and CNN correspondent, is an example of the ongoing threats to […]
I came to the ACLU with racial justice as my primary passion. For me, subjugation and invidious discrimination on the basis of skin-color was the major civil liberties violation I saw. I was also formed, as a 9-year-old fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, by the struggles of Jackie Robinson to end the color barrier in […]
Powell County, my home in Kentucky, is a mirror image to the 50 counties in eastern Kentucky. The real hillbilly elegy is when you can’t pull on your bootstraps without your shoes breaking, and the payday loans won’t take a chance on you. It’s a whole lot of moms snorting pills to cushion the abuse […]
More than ever, our society and our democracy are in need of rigorous analysis and open debate of our policies, from immigration and mass incarceration to campus free speech zones and the relationship between the media and the government. Americans’ First Amendment rights guarantee this, but these basic freedoms should never be taken for granted. […]
Immigration Nation is a groundbreaking six-part documentary series on Netflix. The series, shot over a three year period, provides an unprecedented look at the immigration system in America. Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz, the Directors and Executive Producers of Immigration Nation, are the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award honorees for the arts & entertainment […]
“Rap on Trial” is the term coined by the authors for the government’s use of rap lyrics and videos as criminal evidence to surveil, charge, detain, adjudicate and punish. Andrea first encountered this tactic in the early 2000s when she was a criminal defense attorney. About five years later the issue landed back on her […]
According to the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, climate change poses the single greatest threat to public health in the 21st century. From the impacts of extreme weather events, to the expanding distribution of infectious diseases, climate change will amplify existing threats to health, as well as create new ones. […]
When the White House revoked Jim Acosta’s press pass after trying to stop Acosta from asking tough but fair questions, it was clear that key First Amendment principles were at stake. Journalists must be able to cover the White House without fear of retribution. I along with my colleagues at Gibson Dunn and the CNN […]
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The Real Threat to Free Press
/in First Amendment /by David McCrawShortly before my book went to press, the polling group Ipsos came out with a survey tracking Americans’ feelings about press freedom. It showed that 26 percent of the respondents believed that the president should have the power to shut down press organizations that “engage in bad behavior.” No matter how you feel about the […]