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2024 Fall: Volume 30, Number 1
Below is the Table of Contents for the 2024 Fall edition of the Silha Bulletin. Click on the title to read the full article.
Cover Story: Journalists Face Potential Threats in President-elect Trump’s Second Term
Since at least 2017, Donald Trump has labeled the press as “the enemy of the American people,” echoing the words of the dictator Joseph Stalin, who used the phrase to characterize various oppositional forces in the Soviet Union.
Trump and the Media: Donald Trump Threatens Media Companies with Business and Legal Consequences
In the waning days of his 2024 campaign for president, Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against the news media, threatening to “prosecute” tech companies, revoke the licenses of news organizations whose coverage displeased him, and to sue those same organizations for defamation.
FCC: Trump Selects Brendan Carr to Chair the FCC
On Nov. 17, 2024, following Donald Trump’s election victory, the incoming president announced on Truth Social that he had selected Brendan Carr to chair the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Journalism Ethics: Billionaire Owners of Los Angeles Times and Washington Post Quash Presidential Endorsements, Raising Questions of Journalistic Independence
In October 2024, as the election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump entered its final phase, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post broke from recent tradition by not endorsing a candidate for president.
Journalism Ethics: Trump Accuses 60 Minutes of Deceptive Editing, Prompting Journalism Ethics Questions
On Oct. 7, 2024, CBS News aired an episode of its weekly news magazine program 60 Minutes featuring an interview with Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris.
Defamation: Central Park Five Sue Donald Trump for Defamation
President-elect Donald Trump is facing a new defamation lawsuit, brought by the men known as the “Central Park Five,” following comments Trump made about them at the Sept. 10, 2024 presidential debate with Kamala Harris.
Defamation: Wisconsin Defamation Suit Targets Independent Media Organization, Considers Who Is a “Public Figure”
On Sept. 17, 2024, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court, ruled that a man who allegedly used an anti-gay slur at a community meeting, and who later sued the newspaper that reported on the incident for defamation, was a public figure for purposes of his suit.
Defamation: New Jersey’s Superior Court Appellate Division Hands Down Mixed Ruling in Defamation Case
On Oct. 15, 2024, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, addressed the standard of “actual malice” in defamation law in a case dealing with an Olympian’s social media posts about a public-school teacher’s alleged treatment of a Muslim student.
Anti-SLAPP: Anti-SLAPP Legislation Update: Two More States Adopt the UPEPA’s Model Statute
In 2024, Minnesota and Pennsylvania passed anti-SLAPP statutes, bringing the total number of states with some form of anti-SLAPP law to 34, plus Washington, D. C., according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP).
U.S. Supreme Court: U.S. Supreme Court Revives Citizen Journalist’s Retaliatory-Arrest Suit
On Oct. 15, 2024, in a decision with potentially far-reaching consequences for journalists reporting on police and official corruption, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling in Villarreal v. Alaniz and remanded the case for further proceedings.
Endangered Journalists: Las Vegas Politician Sentenced in Murder of Journalist
In October 2024, a former Las Vegas-area official was sentenced to 28 years in Nevada state prison for the first-degree murder of investigative journalist Jeff German.
Access to Courts: 5th Circuit Says Texas County’s Ban on Public Access to Bail Hearings is Unconstitutional
Caldwell County, a Texas county with fewer than 50,000 people, tried to ban the press from attending bail hearings, known as “magistration proceedings,” in Texas state court.
Israel-Hamas War: UN Special Rapporteur Releases Report Finding War in Gaza Has “Unleashed a Global Crisis of Freedom of Expression”
On Aug. 23, 2024, UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan issued her report on “[g]lobal threats to freedom of expression arising from the conflict in Gaza.”
War in Ukraine: Ukraine Update: Impact of the War on Press Freedom, and the Death of a Journalist Detained
As the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on, threats to press freedom persist.
Silha Center Events: Professor Jacob Mchangama Explores Decline in Free Speech at the 39th Annual Lecture
The 39th annual Silha Lecture featured Professor Jacob Mchangama, the founder and executive director of The Future of Free Speech, an independent, non-partisan think tank located at Vanderbilt University.