Volume 14, Number 2
Below is the Table of Contents for the Winter 2009 edition of the Silha Bulletin. Click on the title to read the full article.
Bulletin Winter 2009
Volume 14, Number 2
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Cover Story: Obama Promises More Government Openness; Skeptics Demand Immediate Results
President Barack Obama took the office on Jan. 20, 2009 and the next day renewed his promise of a new era of open government and accountability.
Journalist Subpoenas and Shield Laws: Ashenfelter Pleads the Fifth in Ongoing Effort to Protect Confidential Sources
The battle over confidential sources between former Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino and Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter shifted from First Amendment freedoms to Fifth Amendment protections after Ashenfelter refused to answer questions at a Dec. 31, 2008 deposition, citing the right against compelled self-incrimination.
Journalist Subpoenas and Shield Laws: Nevada Shield Law Upheld; Reporter Does Not Have to Testify
A federal magistrate judge in Nevada held that “the plain language: of the state’s reporter shield law confers an “absolute privilege,” protecting a reporter from disclosing sources and other newsgathering information in a Jan. 30, 2009 ruling.
Journalist Subpoenas and Shield Laws: Shield Law Bills Introduced Again in U.S. House and Senate
Federal shield bills have been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate that would limit the federal government’s power to subpoena journalists.
FOIA and Access: 2nd Circuit: Detainee Identities Can Be Kept Secret Under FOIA
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 5, 2009 that the privacy interests of Guantanamo Bay detainees and their families who were the subject of investigations of prisoner abuse outweigh the public interest in their personal information being released to the Associated Press (AP).
FOIA and Access: Minnesota High Court Approves Cameras-in-Court Pilot Program
After nearly two years of debate and competing reports from an advisory committee, the Minnesota Supreme Court ordered Feb. 12, 2009 that current procedures governing electronic media coverage in the state’s courtrooms should be retained until a pilot project and concurrent study can be completed.
FOIA and Access: Courts Continue to Deal with Bush Records Policies, E-mails
As President George W. Bush prepared to make way for his successor, Barack Obama, on Jan. 20, 2009, a trio of lawsuits filed by watchdog groups concerned with the preservation of Bush administration records continued to wind their way through federal courts in Washington.
FOIA and Access: FERPA Explained; Critics Call New Rules ‘Irrational’
The United States Department of Education released a 54-page document on Dec. 9, 2008 that detailed several modifications to the enforcement of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Government Wiretaps: Former NSA Analyst Says Wiretap Program Included Journalists
A former National Security Agency (NSA) analyst said the agency’s warrantless surveillance program monitored American news organizations and domestic communications, contrary to assertions by the Bush administration that the program targeted only communications between U.S. residents and suspected terrorists overseas.
International: Accused Politkovskaya Conspirators Acquitted
On Feb. 19, 2009, a jury unanimously acquitted three men accused of helping to organize the 2006 killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
International: Iraq Remains the Deadliest Nation for Journalists
Although Iraq remains the deadliest country in the world for journalists, the total number of reporters killed in Iraq in 2008 dropped significantly from the record number of deaths in the preceding two years, in part reflecting a decline in Western media presence there.
International: Media Locked Out of Gaza Conflict
Israel banned journalists from entering Gaza during its military operations there in December and January, drawing outcry from international press organizations and the United Nations (U.N.).
Digital Media: Subpoenas Seek to Identify Anonymous Web Site Commentators and Viewers
Plaintiffs in several defamation lawsuits are seeking court orders to identify anonymous Internet users, raising First Amendment concerns regarding the protections afforded to anonymous communicators on the Internet.
Digital Media: Federal Judge Recognizes AP’s ‘Hot News’ Claim in Suit over Online Use of Content
On Feb. 17, 2009, a federal judge refused to dismiss the Associated Press’s (AP) claim that the AP can assert an ownership interest in “hot news” against a competing online service.
Digital Media: Judge Allows Live Webcast of Copyright Trial; RIAA Appeals
A U.S. District Court judge in Boston authorized a live Internet video stream of oral arguments in a widely followed file-sharing lawsuit in January 2009, but the plaintiff recording companies seeking to prevent the webcast have appealed the order to the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Copyright: AP Alleges Copyright Infringement over Iconic Obama Image
The creator of a popular poster featuring President Barack Obama filed a lawsuit in federal district court in New York City on Feb. 9, 2009 against The Associated Press (AP), asking the judge to issue a declaration that he did not infringe the AP’s copyright for a photograph that inspired the poster.
Copyright: Music Industry to Abandon Mass Copyright Lawsuits
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that it will reduce its use of lawsuits to combat illegal online music sharing, and will instead cooperate with Internet service providers (ISPs) to stop the transfer of copyrighted works, a Dec. 19, 2008 story in The Wall Street Journal reported.
Copyright: Update: Blogger Pleads Guilty for Leaking Guns N’ Roses Songs
A blogger who was arrested and charged by federal agents with illegally streaming nine tracks from the then-forthcoming Guns N’ Roses album “Chinese Democracy” pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of copyright infringement as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Libel: 1st Circuit Rules Truth Not Always a Defense to Libel
On Feb. 13, 2009, the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston held that truth may no longer be a defense to libel in lawsuits brought by private figure plaintiffs under Massachusetts law if the allegedly libelous statement was published by a defendant acting out of “ill will.”
Libel: New Jersey Court Ruling Casts Doubt on ‘Fair Report Privilege’
The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, ruled Nov. 12, 2008 that the “fair report privilege” does not extend to fair and accurate reports of a complaint filed by a debtor’s trustee in a bankruptcy case, at least until there has been “judicial review” of the complaint.
Libel: Libel Tourism Bills Introduced in U.S. House and Senate
A new bill aimed at protecting American journalists, writers, and publishers from defamation judgments in foreign jurisdictions with less stringent speech protections was introduced in the United States Senate on Feb. 17, 2009.
Libel: Criminal Libel Changes in Colorado, Wisconsin
Authorities in Colorado and Wisconsin have charged three people with criminal libel in separate incidents all involving the Internet.
Student Media: New California Law to Protect School Journalism Advisers
As of Jan. 1, 2009, a new California law offers journalism advisors and other school employees increased protection from retaliatory administrative action for material published by their students.
Student Media: High School Editors Face Off with Principals
The student newspaper at Faribault High School in Faribault, Minn. returned to the presses in February 2009 after a fight over prior review resulted in the school’s superintendent suspending publication and students turning to the local newspaper and the Internet as an alternative means of publishing.
Media Ethics: Defense Departments Finds ‘No Wrongdoing’ in TV Analysts’ Pentagon Ties
The first of three federal agencies scheduled to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the use of retired military officers as independent analysts on television news programs reported in January 2009 that it found “insufficient evidence” to support allegations that the Defense Department violated federal law.
Media Ethics: Pentagon Criticized for Mixing PR and Propaganda
Efforts by the U.S. military to merge “public affairs” information operations with those aimed at propaganda have drawn criticism from NATO allies in Afghanistan as well as the Defense Department’s Inspector General.
Media Ethics: Lobbyist Settles with New York Times over McCain Story
A lobbyist whose relationship with former Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was the focus of a Feb. 21, 2008 New York Times story settled her defamation lawsuit against the newspaper on Feb. 19, 2009.
Media Ethics: Citing Impartiality, BBC Refuses to Air Gaza Aid Appeal
The BBC announced Jan. 22, 2009 that it would not broadcast a video appeal from a group of British charities on behalf of the civilian victims of recent fighting in Gaza.
Media Ethics: Human Rights Advocates and Media Critics Question NBC News’ Rwandan War Criminals Investigation
NBC News producers and a Rwandan prosecutor apparently joined forces for a series of surprise confrontations at Goucher College in Baltimore where a man they said was involved in the 1994 mass killings in Rwanda was working as a professor.