Fall 2011 Silha Bulletin

Volume 17, Number 1

Below is the Table of Contents for the Fall 2011 edition of the Silha Bulletin.  Click on the title to read the full article.

Fall 2011: Volume 17, No. 1                         
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Cover Story: Battles to Gain Camera/Audio Access to State and Federal Courtrooms Continue
For years, First Amendment advocates have fought for camera and audio recorder access to judicial proceedings. 

Freedom of Speech: Occupy Wall Street Produces Legal and Ethical Issues for Journalists
On Sept. 17, 2011 Occupy Wall Street (OWS), an ongoing series of demonstrations, was born after the Canadian activist group Adbusters organized a protest in Zuccotti Park in New York City's Wall Street financial district.

Broadcast Regulation: FCC Defends Regulatory Regimes in Court; U.K. Explores Cross-Ownership Regulations
Two separate cases moving through federal courts this year have left the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) trying to defend how it regulates swear words that are broadcast on television and radio and how it regulates the ownership of multiple media companies in the same community. 

Copyright: News Media Copyright Firm "Righthaven" Suffers Critical Legal Setbacks 
Following its creation in January 2010, controversial copyright holding firm Righthaven LLC, launched a campaign of lawsuits challenging what it characterized as unauthorized republication of its clients' copyrighted news stories.

Privacy: Amid Skepticism, Uncertainty, Culture Clash, EU Eyes Online "Right to be Forgotten"
Throughout 2011, a controversial proposal to protect privacy online sparked debate accentuating fundamental differences in European and American attitudes.       

Privacy: Cops and Citizens Clash over Recordings of Law Enforcement Activity
A rash of recent clashes between police and citizens who are recording police activity in public has raised the eyebrows of civil liberties advocates who argue that there is a First Amendment right to record activity in public places, especially when it implicates important issues of public concern such as police conduct.

Press Freedom: Dangers Faced by Journalists Extend to Social Media Users
Recent high-profile incidents of violence against journalists have highlighted the dangers faced by anyone using social media to report on international events.   

Freedom of Speech: In Snyder's Wake, Protests Continue to Test Boundaries of Protected Expression, Spark Regulatory Efforts
Following the Supreme Court's March 2011 ruling protecting funeral protestors' picketing rights in Snyder v. Phelps, legislators continue to advocate for the regulation of this controversial form of expression.

Student Free Speech: Social Media Laws Aim to Curb Bullying and Abuse of Children Online
The bullying and abuse of children through social media services remain a concern among legislators. 

Silha Center Events: Silha Lecture Highlights Free Speech in the Digital Age
British media lawyer Mark Stephens said a healthy debate about freedom of expression and the First Amendment eventually led notorious WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to seek him out as his attorney. 

Sidebar: America's Phone Hacking Scandal
A July 28, 2011 story in The New Yorker describes the 1998 "Chiquita Banana scandal," which Stephens  said discouraged American journalists from the practice of phone hacking more than a decade before its widespread use across the Atlantic was revealed.  

Media Ethics: Attribution Controversies Prompt Reexamination of What Constitutes Journalistic Plagiarism
Arlington, Va.-based political journalism website Politico found itself at the center of an ethics scandal in October 2011 when it was revealed that Kendra Marr, a Politico reporter for two years, plagiarized portions of at least seven news stories throughout 2011. 

Media Ethics: Satire Gone Too Far?: The Onion Causes a Stir
American satirical newspaper The Onion sparked a mini-crisis in Washington on Sept. 29, 2011 when it posted on its Twitter page that members of Congress had taken visiting schoolchildren hostage, promoting a similar story on its website and in its print edition.